Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein Appoints Special Counsel Robert Mueller

Rod Rosenstein, nominee to be Deputy Attorney General, testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington March 7, 2017. (Photo: Reuters)

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed former FBI Director Robert Mueller as special counsel for the investigation into Russian election meddling. Deputy Rosenstein, who conducted the review that led to the firing of James Comey as FBI director, was under enormous pressure to make this move after a New York Times story claimed President Donald J. Trump asked Comey to drop the investigation into former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.

The deputy attorney general said his decision was not driven by evidence of a crime, but rather due to public confidence in the investigation.

“In my capacity as acting Attorney General, I determined that it is in the public interest for me to exercise my authority and appoint a Special Counsel to assume responsibility for this matter,” Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein said in a statement. “My decision is not a finding that crimes have been committed or that any prosecution is warranted.”

As People’s Pundit Daily previously reported, legal experts on the right and left said reaction to the alleged Comey memo was overblown and the story was oversold. Further, even if true, the memo raises more questions about the actions of former FBI director James Comey than President Donald J. Trump.

Mr. Mueller, who will oversee the bureau’s investigation of Russian actions during the 2016 presidential election, has 60 days to put together a budget and submit it to Rosenstein.  The Justice Department said Mueller has resigned from his job at a private law firm to take the job of special counsel.

Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, called the appointment a “great selection.”

During their 8 years–facing multiple scandals including Fast and Furious, IRS targeting of conservative groups, the surveillance of reporters, Benghazi, and the botched investigation into Hillary Clinton’s mishandling of classified information–the Obama Administration simply ignored calls for an independent special counsel.

The loudest of those calls came after former Attorney General Loretta Lynch was caught secretly meeting with Bill Clinton on an airplane when his wife was the target of a criminal investigation.