News of Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein Resigning Puts Future of Russia Probe in Question

THIS. IS. NOT. A. DRILL.

This is red alert, all-hand-on-deck news.

Maybe.

According to Axios, quoting a source close to the matter, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein will be resigning, effective Monday.

The White House has accepted his resignation, because, you know, there was the risk that Donald Trump somehow wanted Rosenstein – the man who appointed Robert Mueller to begin the Russia probe – to stay on.

From CNBC News:

Rosenstein’s expected resignation will immediately raise questions about the fate of the ongoing investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller, who is probing Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, and possible obstruction of justice by President Donald Trump.

Rosenstein oversees the special counsel investigation, and has appointed Mueller to run the Russia probe last year, after Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from the case.

For those who have been in a coma for the past two years, first of all, “President” Donald Trump is not a joke. It really happened.

Second of all, we have to grasp the importance of Rod Rosenstein to the ongoing Russia probe.

Rosenstein took over the Russia probe when Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself, based on his own interactions with Russian officials, while acting as a member of Donald Trump’s campaign team.

When Trump fired FBI Director James Comey, and then told NBC News’ Lester Holt that it was because Comey failed to end the Russia investigation, he absolutely contradicted what he’d sent his own people out to announce – that Comey had been fired for his shoddy handling of the Hillary Clinton email server scandal.

That’s a perfectly legitimate reason for the firing.

As a matter of fact, as a new president, Trump did not need a reason to fire Comey. It’s a political appointment and the FBI director serves at the pleasure of the sitting president. If an incoming president wants to put his own guy in, he has that right.

With Trump, however, it’s never that simple. There’s always something noxious and wavering dangerously close to corrupt, simmering just under the surface.

Comey claimed several uncomfortable private meetings with the new president, where he asked for Comey’s “loyalty.”

The former director also said Trump asked him to end the Russia investigation and to let Michael Flynn, his first choice for national security adviser, off the hook.

While calling Comey a liar, Trump pretty much verified Comey’s claims by making the statement he did to Holt.

Rosenstein did what any principled DOJ official would do: He acted against his own party to appoint special counsel, in order that an investigation not tainted by party politics could be carried out.

And no matter Trump and his flying MAGA monkeys’ protests, simply having a mix of Democrats and Republicans on the team doesn’t make it political.

Now, whatever happened or may happen is in the balance.

The word that is leaking now, regarding Rosenstein’s departure is that he verbally offered his resignation to White House Chief of Staff John Kelly.

Others are saying that his suspicion is that he was being fired, therefore, he cut to the chase and offered his resignation.

And the third word is that Rosenstein is pushing back against these rumors. He has not resigned and the White House is wavering on firing him, knowing just how much trouble that could cause.

This story is getting hotter and developing, so stay tuned, as we try to sift through what is credible and what is not.