Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein resigns

WASHINGTON—Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, a crucial figure in special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, submitted his resignation letter Monday and plans to leave the Department of Justice on May 11. President Donald Trump has nominated Deputy Transportation Secretary Jeffrey Rosen to replace him.

Rosenstein had a controversial two-year tenure in his post. He wrote a memo in May 2017 criticizing former FBI Director James Comey’s handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation, which the president used to justify Comey’s firing. After former Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from investigating Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Rosenstein appointed Mueller to look into whether the Trump campaign had ties to Russia and whether Trump obstructed justice. The president frequently criticized Rosenstein after that and dubbed the Russia investigation a “witch hunt.”

In September 2018, The New York Times reported that in spring of 2017, Rosenstein suggested invoking the 25th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution to remove Trump from office and even floated the idea of wearing a wire to secretly record the president. Rosenstein disputed the account, calling it “inaccurate and factually incorrect.” After the Times report, Rosenstein offered to resign but ultimately stayed to see the conclusion of Mueller’s probe.

Mueller found the Trump campaign had not colluded with Russia but reached no final judgment about whether the president obstructed justice. Rosenstein assisted Barr in concluding that Trump had not obstructed justice.