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September 25, 2018June 12, 2020

Rod Rosenstein: Will He Resign? Will He Be Fired? Will We Know?

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein’s expected departure may not feel exactly like a surprising news story. There was speculation during the summer that Trump might fire Rosenstein after the FBI raided the home of Michael Cohen, Trump’s former personal lawyer. What stands out at this point about the possibility of Rod Rosenstein’s leaving is the recent alternating news about his mode of departure.

First, the news came over the weekend that Rod Rosenstein was about to be fired in the aftermath of a story that appeared in The New York Times. According to the Times, after Trump’s firing of former FBI director James Comey in early 2017, Rod Rosenstein had allegedly suggested invoking the 25^th Amendment to remove Trump from office. Rosenstein also reportedly talked about secretly recording Trump’s conversations. Rosenstein has denied both allegations.

Later, on Monday, it was reported that Rosenstein was going to resign because he expected to be fired. He visited the White House on Monday, and met with Chief of Staff John Kelly, as well as speaking with Donald Trump, who was in New York when they spoke.

At the end of Monday, however, Rosenstein’s job was still intact. He will meet in person with Trump on Thursday, September27.

In anticipation of Rod Rosenstein’s expected departure one way or the other, is the White House trying to blur the public’s impression about whether Rosenstein was fired or whether he resigned?

Something important to remember is this, from The Atlantic: “If the president can browbeat Rosenstein into resigning—or even plausibly misrepresent the firing as a resignation—Trump gains the power to bypass the Senate confirmation process under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act. He can replace Rosenstein with any serving official previously confirmed by the Senate to any other job.”

In the summer of 2017, when Trump ordered the firing of Robert Mueller, and Don McGahn refused, some predicted that Trump would next try to fire Rod Rosenstein, who also indicated that he did not intend to fire Mueller. This, some said, would remove the block (Rosenstein) to ending the Russia investigation.

If Donald Trump’s current chance to get rid of Rod Rosenstein plays out, Trump would be able to control who steps in at the Justice Department to run the Mueller probe. That person would have to be confirmed by the Senate, but with a Republican-dominated Senate, most of which either strongly backs Trump or has been largely sluggish, it’s likely the Trump appointee would be confirmed. That person would then direct Robert Mueller, and could effectively put an end to the investigation into Russia’s influence on the 2016 presidential election. Thursday may not only be a big day for Rod Rosenstein, it could be a fateful day for our country.

Napolitano on potential fallout if Trump fires Rosenstein | Fox News [2018-09-24]

Rod Rosenstein speaks with Trump about recent news stories, will meet Thursday | CBS News [2018-09-24]

September 11, 2018June 16, 2020

George Papadapoulos First Trump Campaign Member to Be Sentenced

As the Justice Department’s “fake investigation” uncovers real lawbreakers, a judge has sentenced George Papadapoulos to 14 days in prison. Papadapoulos, a former member of the foreign policy advisory panel during Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, was found guilty of lying to investigators about his contact with individuals associated with Russia during Trump’s campaign. George Papadapoulos, in fact, became a catalyst for the start of the Russia investigation.

Papadapoulos is the first staff member of the Trump campaign to be sentenced in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. He was arrested in 2017, and pleaded guilty last October to lying to investigators.

George Papadapoulos’ contacts with Russia operatives came to light during a drunken conversation in a London bar with Australian diplomat Alexander Downer. Over drinks, Papadapoulos bragged that he had been told that Russia had thousands of stolen emails with political “dirt” that could damage Hilary Clinton’s campaign for president.

A couple of months after Papadapoulos’ conversation with the Australian diplomat, leaked Democrat emails began to surface. At that point, the Australian government passed the information to the U.S. government about Papadapoulos’ claims.

Though it’s clear that Papadapoulos boasted about his knowledge of emails that could damage the Clinton campaign, he maintains that he didn’t tell anyone in the Trump campaign about the emails. Or rather, he maintains that his memory tells him that he didn’t.

Papadapoulos and his lawyers insist that Papadapoulos’ intentions were not as “sinister” as the Justice Department has implied. They portray Papadapoulos as a young man who simply aspired to advance his career by looking good in front of his boss. The sentencing memo reads that Papadapoulos had “…Misled investigators to save his professional aspirations and preserve a perhaps misguided loyalty to his master.”

When the possibility that Papadapoulos’ associations with Russia could incriminate the Trump administration in the Russia investigation, it quickly dismissed its relationship with Papadapoulos. Trump’s staff began referring to Pappadapoulos as a “coffee boy.” Sarah Sanders claimed, regarding Papadapoulos’ position, “No activity was ever done in an official capacity.”

As with others who have put themselves in compromising positions in the service of Donald Trump, the Trump administration has in turn allowed George Papadapoulos to slide under the bus. One might be tempted to tweet the now familiar “SAD,” until remembering that George Papadapoulos’ ambition is probably a lot more than just that of an ambitious young thing with “misguided loyalty to his master.”

Ex-Trump campaign aide gets 14 days in prison | CNN [2018-09-07]

George Papadopoulos sentenced to 14 days in prison | Fox News [2018-09-07]