Rosenstein: ‘In Case You Haven’t Noticed,’ My Decisions Don’t ‘Please’ Everyone

United States Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein speaks at the ABA conference at the Hyatt Regency Chicago on Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune/TNS)
United States Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein speaks at the ABA conference at the Hyatt Regency Chicago on Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune/TNS via Getty Images)
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During a Chicago gathering of the American Bar Association Thursday, deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who did not once mention special counsel Robert Mueller or Republican efforts to impeach him, lamented to the crowd that his decisions don’t always please people, “in case you haven’t noticed.”

“President Trump selected a superb team of skilled and principled lawyers to lead the Department of Justice and our U.S. Attorney’s Offices,” Rosenstein said, according to Politico. “Our decisions do not please all the people all the time — in case you haven’t noticed.”

The moment of candidness was met with laughter, as President Donald Trump has made no secret of his interest in firing Rosenstein to end the Russia probe.

Those decisions “always reflect the care, caution and wisdom required by the law,” he continued. “That is what the President appointed us to do. It is what the Senate confirmed us to do. It is what the oath of office obligates us to do.”

According to Politico, Rosenstein shined in the audience of his peers and received a standing ovation that lasted longer than a minute — a far cry from his regularly chilly reception on Capitol Hill. The President, according to Vanity Fair, has told advisers in recent days that he will fire Rosenstein himself in a few weeks if the probe doesn’t wrap up soon.

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