Rod Rosenstein

Rod Rosenstein
37th United States Deputy Attorney General
Assumed office
April 26, 2017
President Donald Trump
Preceded by Sally Yates
United States Attorney for the District of Maryland
In office
July 12, 2005 – April 26, 2017
President George W. Bush
Barack Obama
Donald Trump
Preceded by Thomas M. DiBiagio
Succeeded by Stephen Schenning (Acting)
Personal details
Born Rod Jay Rosenstein
(1965-01-13) January 13, 1965
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Political party Republican[1][2]
Education University of Pennsylvania (BS)
Harvard University (JD)
Signature

Rod Jay Rosenstein (IPA: /ˈroʊzənˌstaɪn/;[3] born January 13, 1965) is the Deputy Attorney General for the United States Department of Justice.

Prior to his current appointment, he served as a United States Attorney for the District of Maryland. Rosenstein was a former nominee to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. At the time of his confirmation as Deputy Attorney general in April 2017, he was the nation's longest-serving U.S. attorney.[4]

President Donald Trump nominated Rosenstein to serve as Deputy Attorney General for the United States Department of Justice on January 13, 2017. Rosenstein was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on April 25, 2017. In May 2017, he authored a memo which President Trump said was the basis of his decision to dismiss FBI Director James Comey.[5]

Background

Early life and family

Rod Jay Rosenstein was born on January 13, 1965, in Philadelphia,[6][7] to Robert, who ran a small business, and Gerri Rosenstein, a bookkeeper and school board president. He grew up in Lower Moreland Township, Pennsylvania.[8] He has one sister, Dr. Nancy Messonnier, who is the director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the CDC in Atlanta.[9][10]

Education and clerkship

He graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, with a B.S. in economics, summa cum laude in 1986.[11] He earned his J.D. degree cum laude in 1989 from Harvard Law School,[11] where he was an editor of the Harvard Law Review. He then served as a law clerk to Judge Douglas H. Ginsburg of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.[12]

Department of Justice

After his clerkship, Rosenstein joined the U.S. Department of Justice through the Attorney General’s Honors Program. From 1990 to 1993, he prosecuted public corruption cases as a trial attorney with the Public Integrity Section of the Criminal Division, then led by Assistant Attorney General Robert Mueller.[11][13]

During the Clinton Administration, Rosenstein served as Counsel to Deputy Attorney General Philip B. Heymann (1993–1994) and Special Assistant to Criminal Division Assistant Attorney General Jo Ann Harris (1994–1995). As an Associate Independent Counsel from 1995 to 1997, he was co-counsel in the trial of three defendants who were convicted of fraud, and he supervised the investigation that found no basis for criminal prosecution of White House officials who had obtained FBI background reports.[11] Rosenstein was chosen to work in the United States Office of the Independent Counsel under Ken Starr on the Whitewater investigation into President Bill Clinton.[14]

From 2001 to 2005, Rosenstein served as Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Tax Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. He coordinated the tax enforcement activities of the Tax Division, the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the IRS, and he supervised 90 attorneys and 30 support employees. He also oversaw civil litigation and served as the acting head of the Tax Division when Assistant Attorney General Eileen J. O'Connor was unavailable, and he personally briefed and argued civil appeals in several federal appellate courts.

U.S. Attorney

Rosenstein as U.S. Attorney

United States Attorney Lynne A. Battaglia hired Rosenstein as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in 1997.[11] He litigated a wide range of cases, coordinated the credit card fraud and international assistance programs and supervised the law student intern program. He also briefed and argued cases in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

President George W. Bush nominated Rosenstein to serve as United States Attorney for the United States District Court for the District of Maryland on May 23, 2005. He took office on July 12, 2005, after the United States Senate unanimously confirmed his nomination.[13][15] As United States Attorney, he oversaw federal civil and criminal litigation, assisted with federal law enforcement strategies in Maryland, and presented cases in the U.S. District Court and in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.[15] Rosenstein secured several convictions against prison guards in Baltimore for conspiring with the Black Guerrilla Family.[14] He indicted Baltimore police officers Wayne Jenkins, Momodu Gondo, Evodio Hendrix, Daniel Hersl, Jemell Rayam, Marcus Taylor, and Maurice Ward for racketeering.[16] Rosenstein, with the aid of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the Drug Enforcement Agency, secured convictions in large scale narcotics cases in the District of Maryland, including the arrest and conviction of Terrell Plummer,[17] Richard Christopher Byrd,[18] James "Brad" LaRocca,[19] and Yasmine Geen Young.[20] The Attorney General appointed Rosenstein to serve on the Advisory Committee of U.S. Attorneys, which evaluates and recommends policies for the Department of Justice. He is vice-chair of the Violent and Organized Crime Subcommittee and a member of the Subcommittees on White Collar Crime, Sentencing Issues and Cyber/Intellectual Property Crime. He also serves on the Attorney General’s Anti-Gang Coordination Committee.

Attorney General Eric Holder appointed Rosenstein to prosecute General James Cartwright, a former Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, for leaking to reporters.[14] Rosenstein’s aggressive prosecution secured a guilty plea from Cartwright, who was ultimately pardoned by President Barack Obama.[14]

Rosenstein served as the U.S. Attorney in Maryland at a time when murders in the state dropped by about a third, which was double the decline at the national level. Robberies and aggravated assaults also fell faster than the national average. According to Thiru Vignarajah, a former deputy attorney general of Maryland, "Collaboration between prosecutors, police, and the community combined with a dogged focus on violent repeat offenders was the anchor of Rosenstein’s approach." Rosenstein regarded the heroin and opioid epidemic as a public health crisis, hired a re-entry specialist to help ex-offenders adjust to life outside of prison, and prosecuted several individual cases of corrupt police officers.[2]

Judicial nomination

In 2007, President George W. Bush nominated Rosenstein to a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Rosenstein was a Maryland resident at the time. Barbara Mikulski and new Democratic Maryland senator, Ben Cardin, blocked Rosenstein's confirmation, stating that he did not have strong enough Maryland legal ties,[21] and due to this Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Patrick Leahy did not schedule a hearing on Rosenstein during the 110th Congress and the nomination lapsed. Andre M. Davis later was renominated to the same seat and confirmed by the Senate in 2009.

Deputy Attorney General of the United States

Rosenstein being sworn in as Deputy Attorney General
Appointment of Special Counsel to Investigate Russian Interference with the 2016 Presidential Election and Related Matters

President Donald Trump nominated Rosenstein to serve as Deputy Attorney General for the United States Department of Justice on January 13, 2017.[22] He was one of the 46 United States Attorneys ordered on March 10, 2017 to resign by Attorney General Jeff Sessions; Trump declined his resignation.[23] Rosenstein was confirmed by the Senate on April 25, 2017 by a vote of 94-6.[24][25]

Comey memo

On May 8, 2017, President Donald Trump directed Sessions and Rosenstein to make a case against FBI Director James Comey in writing. The next day, Rosenstein handed a memo to Sessions providing the basis for Sessions' recommendation to President Trump that Comey be dismissed.[26][27]

In his memo Rosenstein asserts that the FBI must have "a Director who understands the gravity of the mistakes and pledges never to repeat them". He ends with an argument against keeping Comey as FBI director, on the grounds that he was given an opportunity to "admit his errors" but that there is no hope that he will "implement the necessary corrective actions."[28]

Critics argued that Rosenstein, in enabling the firing of Comey amid an investigation into Russian election interference, damaged his reputation for independence.[29][30][31][32][33]

After administration officials cited Rosenstein's memo as the main reason for Comey's dismissal, an anonymous source in the White House said that Rosenstein threatened to resign.[34] Rosenstein denied the claim and said he was "not quitting," when asked directly by a reporter from Sinclair Broadcast Group.[35][36]

On 17 May 2017, Rosenstein told the full Senate he knew that Comey would be fired before he wrote his controversial memo that the White House initially used as justification for President Trump firing Comey.[37]

Special counsel appointment

On May 17, 2017, Rosenstein appointed Robert Mueller as a special counsel to conduct the investigation into "any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump" as well as any matters arising directly from that investigation.[38] Rosenstein's order authorizes Mueller to bring criminal charges in the event that he discovers any federal crimes.[38]

Rosenstein said in a statement, "My decision is not a finding that crimes have been committed or that any prosecution is warranted. I have made no such determination. What I have determined is that based upon the unique circumstances the public interest requires me to place this investigation under the authority of a person who exercises a degree of independence from the normal chain of command."[39] In an interview with the Associated Press, Rosenstein said he would recuse from supervision of Mueller, if he himself were to become a subject in the investigation due to his role in the dismissal of James Comey.[40] In that situation, supervision would fall to DOJ's third-ranking official, Associate Attorney General Rachel Brand.[41]

Personal life

Rod Rosenstein is married to Lisa Barsoomian, an Armenian American lawyer who works for the National Institutes of Health. They have two daughters.[42]

As an adjunct professor, Rosenstein has taught classes on federal criminal prosecution at the University of Maryland School of Law and trial advocacy at the University of Baltimore School of Law.[6]

Rosenstein was a member of Bethesda’s Reform Temple Sinai from 2008 to 2014.[43] According to a questionnaire he filled out ahead of his Senate Judiciary Committee hearing this year, Rosenstein also was a member of a Jewish Community Center Sports League from 1993 to 2012.[43]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Deputy and Associate Attorneys General Testify at Confirmation Hearing". C-SPAN.org.
  2. 1 2 "A look at the past work of the Deputy AG who called for Comey’s firing".
  3. ↑ Deputy Attorney General and Associate Attorney General Nominations (video broadcast). C-SPAN. March 7, 2017. Event occurs at 33:32.
  4. ↑ Fritze, John (April 24, 2017). "Rosenstein poised for confirmation as deputy attorney general". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved April 25, 2017.
  5. ↑ Tamara Keith (April 26, 2017). "Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein Played Key Role In Comey's Firing". NPR. Retrieved May 11, 2017.
  6. 1 2 Clarke, Sara (March 8, 2017). "10 Things You Didn't Know About Rod Rosenstein". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved April 25, 2017.
  7. ↑ Rosenstein, Rod. "Questionnaire for non-judicial nominees" (PDF). United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
  8. ↑ Whelan, Aubrey (May 10, 2017). "The Montco-reared deputy AG who recommended firing Comey". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved May 12, 2017.
  9. ↑ "Written Statement of Rod J. Rosenstein Nominee to Serve as Deputy Attorney General" (PDF). United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. March 7, 2017. Retrieved May 12, 2017.
  10. ↑ "Nancy Messonnier, Director, NCIRD". CDC. Retrieved May 12, 2017.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 "Profile of Rod Rosenstein, U.S. attorney for Maryland". The Washington Post. October 9, 2011. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
  12. ↑ Dolan, Matthew (August 12, 2005). "Rosenstein takes office as top U.S. prosecutor". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
  13. 1 2 Rector, Kevin (November 20, 2016). "Maryland leaders hope state's long-serving U.S. attorney will survive Trump transition". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
  14. 1 2 3 4 Davis, Julie Hirschfeld; Ruiz, Rebecca R. (22 May 2017). "Caught in White House Chaos, Justice Dept. Official Seeks Neutral Ground". The New York Times. p. A1. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
  15. 1 2 "Rod J. Rosenstein, District of Maryland". United States Attorney's Office. Retrieved May 10, 2017.
  16. ↑ Ernst, Spencer. "7 Baltimore officers accused of abusing power, robbing citizens".
  17. ↑ "Seven Baltimore Men Indicted in Federal Drug Conspiracy Related to 2014 Murder of McKenzie Elliott – Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives". www.atf.gov.
  18. ↑ "Richard "Rob" Byrd Pleads Guilty to Leading Major Baltimore Drug Distribution Organization". www.justice.gov.
  19. ↑ "Feds indict 11 on drug trafficking charges".
  20. ↑ "Baltimore Woman Sentenced to Over Five Years in Federal Prison for Bank Fraud and Narcotics Conspiracy". www.justice.gov.
  21. ↑ "Judges, and Justice, Delayed" [editorial]. Washington Post. April 15, 2008. Retrieved March 15, 2017.
  22. ↑ "U.S. attorney in Baltimore is Trump’s pick to be deputy attorney general". Washington Post. January 14, 2017. Retrieved January 31, 2017.
  23. ↑ Savage, Charlie; Haberman, Maggie (March 10, 2017). "Trump Abruptly Orders 46 Obama-Era Prosecutors to Resign". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. ISSN 0362-4331. OCLC 1645522. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
  24. ↑ Snyder, Ron (April 26, 2017). "Rod Rosenstein confirmed as deputy attorney general". wbaltv.com. Retrieved May 18, 2017.
  25. ↑ "Roll Call Vote PN56". United States Senate. April 25, 2017. Retrieved May 18, 2017.
  26. ↑ "Rod Rosenstein's letter recommending Comey is fired". BBC News. Archived from the original on May 10, 2017. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
  27. ↑ Savage, Charlie (May 9, 2017). "Deputy Attorney General's Memo Spells Out Case Against Comey". The New York Times. Retrieved May 18, 2017. When President Trump fired James B. Comey as F.B.I. director on Tuesday, the White House made public a memorandum from Rod J. Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general, recommending the dismissal.
  28. ↑ Rod Rosenstein's letter recommending Comey be fired, bbc.com, May 10, 2017.
  29. ↑ Leonhardt, David (May 10, 2017). "Rod Rosenstein Fails His Ethics Test". The New York Times. Retrieved May 18, 2017.
  30. ↑ "All eyes in Washington are on Rod Rosenstein. Does he have what it takes to investigate Trump?". LA Times. Retrieved May 11, 2017.
  31. ↑ Lichtblau, Eric (September 1, 2015). "Rod Rosenstein: Trump's unlikely hatchet man". Cnn.com. Retrieved May 11, 2017.
  32. ↑ "Rod Rosenstein: Veteran prosecutor in firestorm over firing of FBI's Comey". Usatoday.com. Retrieved May 11, 2017.
  33. ↑ "Et Tu Rod? Why The Deputy Attorney General Must Resign". Retrieved May 17, 2017.
  34. ↑ "Inside Trump’s anger and impatience — and his sudden decision to fire Comey". Washington Post. Retrieved May 11, 2017.
  35. ↑ CNN, Laura Jarrett, Tom LoBianco and Jeremy Herb. "Deputy AG Rosenstein says he's 'not quitting'". CNN. Retrieved 2017-05-18.
  36. ↑ Wang, Christine (2017-05-11). "Deputy AG Rosenstein denies he threatened to quit over Comey dismissal". CNBC. Retrieved 2017-05-18.
  37. ↑ washingtonpost.com: Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein knew before he wrote his controversial memo that Comey would be fired
  38. 1 2 Rebecca R. Ruiz; Mark Landler (May 17, 2017). "SPECIAL COUNSEL WILL INVESTIGATE RUSSIA INFLUENCE — Choice Is Comey's Predecessor at F.B.I., Robert Mueller". The New York Times. p. A1. Retrieved May 18, 2017.
  39. ↑ "Deputy attorney general appoints special counsel to oversee probe of Russian interference in election". Washington Post. Retrieved 2017-05-18.
  40. ↑ Sadie Gurman, Eric Tucker and Jeff Horwitz (June 3, 2017), Special Counsel Mueller's investigation seems to be growing, Associated Press
  41. ↑ Shenon, Philip (June 16, 2017), "The Obscure Lawyer Who Might Become the Most Powerful Woman in Washington", Politico, retrieved June 16, 2017
  42. ↑ Ruben Castaneda. Profile of Rod Rosenstein, U.S. attorney for Maryland, Washington Post, October 9, 2011.
  43. 1 2 Sales, Ben. "5 things to know about Rod Rosenstein, who helped get Comey fired". Times of Israel. Retrieved May 11, 2017.

Sources

 This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Government document "Rod J. Rosenstein, District of Maryland". from the U.S. Department of Justice

Legal offices
Preceded by
Thomas M. DiBiagio		 United States Attorney for the District of Maryland
2005–2017 		Succeeded by
Stephen Schenning
Acting
Preceded by
Sally Yates		 United States Deputy Attorney General
2017–present 		Incumbent
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