Page 8A
NATION/WORLD
East Oregonian
Friday, May 19, 2017
Special counsel pick could boost faith in Justice Dept.
WASHINGTON
(AP)
— There could be a side
benefit for Rod Rosenstein
in appointing a special
counsel to head an investi-
gation into possible Russian
coordination with the Trump
campaign: reviving his own
reputation, heavily battered
for his role in the firing of
James Comey, who had been
leading the probe.
The Wednesday decision
to name former FBI Director
Robert Mueller, an apolitical
outsider, to oversee the case
seemed intended to restore
public faith in an independent
Justice Department following
a series of headache-inducing
headlines. But Rosenstein’s
own professional standing
could start to recover as well.
“He appointed Mueller
because he was cognizant
enough
to
understand
whether or not he thought
he could be fair in the
investigation was irrelevant,”
said Steven Silverman, a
Baltimore attorney who has
known Rosenstein for years.
“The important part is the
public perception of the
Russia investigation.”
“Kudos for him for recog-
nizing that appearances are
equally important as a fair
and just process and investi-
gation,” Silverman added.
At his March confirma-
tion hearing for the deputy
attorney general job, Rosen-
stein refused to commit to
the appointment of a special
counsel to oversee the
investigation into Russian
interference in the 2016 pres-
idential election, saying he
was aware of no requirement
to recuse himself and had no
first-hand knowledge of the
probe anyway.
Much has changed since
then.
There have been growing
questions from Democrats
about the ability of Justice
Department leaders to carry
out the probe independent of
AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein arrives on
Capitol Hill Thursday for a closed-door meeting with
senators after appointing former FBI Director Robert
Mueller to oversee the investigation into ties between
Russia and President Donald Trump’s campaign.
the White House.
Attorney General Jeff
Sessions recused himself in
March after acknowledging
undisclosed contacts with the
Russian ambassador during
the campaign, leaving the
matter in Rosenstein’s hands.
Rosenstein himself in the
last week has come under
intense criticism as the
author of a memo that chas-
tised Comey for his handling
of the Hillary Clinton email
case, which the White House
initially cited as justification
for the firing.
President Donald Trump
later acknowledged that
he had already thought
about dismissing Comey
and had been perturbed by
“this Russia thing,” fueling
criticism that Rosenstein’s
memo merely served as
a pretext so the president
could fire Comey amid an
aggressive investigation into
his campaign.
The timeline was further
muddled Thursday when
Democrats emerged from
a closed-door meeting with
Rosenstein saying he knew
Comey would be removed
prior to writing the memo,
even as Trump insisted again
that he had gotten a “very,
very strong recommenda-
tion” from Rosenstein.
No matter the reason
for the firing, public outcry
mounted for Rosenstein
to appoint an outsider to
oversee the probe. It was an
unusual spot for the veteran
prosecutor, who cultivated
a reputation as an apolitical
law enforcement official.
Rosenstein has publicly
denied being conscious
of his reputation, telling a
Baltimore business group
this week: “I took an oath
to preserve, protect and
defend the Constitution of
the United States. There is
nothing in that oath about my
reputation.”
Yet there’s no question
that Comey’s firing at
least temporarily hobbled
Rosenstein’s public standing.
Friends and colleagues say
it’s been tough to see him in
such a difficult spot, espe-
cially when they consider
him upright, impartial and an
unlikely political pawn.
His selection of Mueller,
a taciturn former federal
prosecutor who led the FBI
through the Sept. 11 attacks,
received bipartisan embrace.
He has served presidents of
both political parties.
BRIEFLY
Trump, dogged by questions at home,
makes first trip abroad
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s
maiden international trip, a five-stop marathon across the
Middle East and Europe, has long loomed as a crucial first
test abroad for the chaos-courting president.
Now, with the eyes of the world upon him, the president
will embark on his big trip carrying the baggage of dire
troubles at home. As he tries to calm allies worried about his
“America First” message, he’ll be followed by fallout from
his firing of FBI Director James Comey and the appointment
of a special counsel to probe the president’s campaign ties
with Russia.
Trump’s trip was always going to be dramatic. U.S.
allies have been rattled by his warnings about pulling back
from the world. He is tasked with urging a united front
against terror by appealing to some of the same corners of
the Muslim world he has tried to keep out of the United
States with his travel ban. Last week, he added new layers
of complication by disclosing classified intelligence to a
longtime adversary.
Still, the White House once hoped the trip, wrapped
in the pomp and circumstance of diplomatic protocol,
could offer a chance at a reset after a tumultuous first four
months in office. Trump’s advisers saw it as an opportunity
for the United States to boldly reassert itself on the world
stage and resume a leadership role that the administration
believes was abdicated by President Barack Obama. Trump’s
powerful senior adviser, his son-in-law Jared Kushner, led
a West Wing team to craft the agenda, laden with religious
symbolism.
Still, Trump hasn’t been eager to seize the opportunity. It’s
been more than a half-century since any president waited as
long to take his first foreign trip.
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Chaffetz to resign, raising doubts about
Trump probe
ALPINE, Utah (AP) — Rep. Jason Chaffetz announced
Thursday he will resign from Congress next month, saying
a “mid-life crisis” had compelled him to step away from his
chairmanship of the House Oversight Committee just as it is
poised to investigate President Donald Trump’s firing of the
FBI director.
The announcement by Chaffetz, 50, was the latest
upending of the Republican-controlled congressional
investigations into Trump.
Chaffetz’s announcement came a day after he tweeted that
he had invited ex-FBI Director James Comey to testify next
week at a hearing of the oversight committee he leads.
Comey was fired last week amid an FBI investigation into
whether Trump’s presidential campaign associates colluded
with Russia to influence the presidential election outcome to
benefit him.
Chaffetz, a Utah Republican who had just started his fifth
term in Congress, used his post as chair of the oversight
committee to doggedly investigate Hillary Clinton before the
2016 presidential election and raise his political profile.
But Trump complicated Chaffetz’s life. He rescinded his
endorsement of Trump last year after recordings surfaced of
the reality show star bragging about groping women, only to
hastily re-endorse Trump shortly before the FBI announced it
was reviving its investigation into Clinton’s emails.
After Trump won the election, Chaffetz became a
lightning rod for criticism that Republicans weren’t
aggressively policing Trump.
Senate chairman: Flynn has not
responded to subpoena
WASHINGTON (AP) — The chairman of the Senate
intelligence committee said Thursday that ousted National
Security Adviser Michael Flynn hasn’t responded to a
subpoena from the panel in its probe of Russia’s meddling in
the 2016 presidential election.
Republican Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina had to
retract a statement made hours earlier that Flynn’s lawyer
had told the committee he would not comply with the
subpoena.
Legal experts say it’s unlikely Flynn would agree to turn
over the personal documents because he would be waiving
his constitutional protection against self-incrimination
by doing so. Flynn, though his lawyer, had earlier asked
for immunity from “unfair prosecution” in exchange for
agreeing to cooperate with the committee.
Flynn’s attorney Robert Kelner did not respond to phone
messages and emails seeking comment.
The Senate committee is one of several on Capitol
Hill investigating possible collusion between Russia and
President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign. Flynn is also
the target of other congressional investigations as well as an
ongoing FBI counterintelligence probe and a separate federal
investigation in Virginia.
Flynn, a retired Army lieutenant general, was fired from
his position as Trump’s national security adviser in February.
At the time, Trump said he fired Flynn because he misled
senior administration officials, including the vice president,
about his contacts with Russian officials.
The Senate committee issued the subpoena for Flynn’s
records on May 10 after he declined to cooperate with an
April 28 request for documents. That request was similar to
ones received by other Trump associates, including former
campaign chairman Paul Manafort, Trump associate Roger
Stone and former Trump foreign policy adviser Carter Page,
a person familiar with the Senate investigation said.
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