Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) explained that Mueller is not going to indict Trump and hand the decision over to some jury, but instead, he will turn any findings of criminal activity by the president over to the Deputy Attorney General, which makes Rod Rosenstein a very important part of this process.
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Schiff said, “Even if he did find criminality on the president’s part, he would be unlikely to decide the proper way to treat that to and trust the fate of the free world to 12 lay jurors in some part of the country. It’s far more likely he would report his findings to the deputy attorney general Rosenstein, and he would have the responsibility of deciding what to do with that report which makes him a pretty key figure in all of this.”
The idea that Mueller is going to indict Trump has always seemed highly unlikely. The Russia investigation is going to resolve through the impeachment process. Schiff was right. Rosenstein is central to what happens after Mueller finishes his investigation. Rosenstein will determine what the Department of Justice does with Mueller’s findings. He will also determine what happens to Mueller’s separate report on Trump’s behavior and actions.
The endless pressure that Trump is putting on Rosenstein makes sense. Rosenstein holds the fate of Trump’s presidency in his hands. In this context, it is also is understandable why Republicans are warning Trump that firing Rosenstein would set off a constitutional crisis that would end his presidency.
Rod Rosenstein is the key figure, who outside of The Rachel Maddow Show, who never gets talked about that much in the Russia investigation, but the Deputy AG is very important, which is why Donald Trump is trying it bully and harass him out of a job.
For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
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