I’m Outta Here

Will he stay? Or will he go?

Yesterday there was a TON of speculation about whether Rod Rosenstein was leaving on his own from the Department of Justice or was going to be fired. There was a camera on the White House to see if the Chief of Staff John Kelly threw him out the front door or if Rod just sauntered out.

This speculation ended when the White House released a statement that Trump would meet with Rod on Thursday after he returns from the U.N. confab gab in New York tomorrow.

Well, now we have this. According to Axios, the D.O.J. had a press release ready to go and Rod was leaving.

From Axios

The full text of the Rod Rosenstein exit statement, drafted by Justice Department spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores in the voice of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and sent to the White House Monday morning, has been reviewed by Axios.

Its veracity has been confirmed by three sources close to the White House with direct knowledge.

————

Rod Rosenstein has served the Department of Justice with dedication and skill for 28 years. His contributions are many and significant. We all appreciate his service and sincerely wish him well.

Matt Whitaker, my Chief of Staff for the last year, will instill confidence and uphold the integrity of the Department as the second highest law enforcement officer in the Nation.

Finally, I am confident that Noel Francisco will oversee the special counsel with a commitment to justice as Acting Attorney General for this matter. As I have said before, the American people deserve an expeditious resolution of this investigation consistent with the rule of law.

So if you are keeping score at home what this means is Rod is gone. Kelly probably did not want to do this while Trump was in New York being it might seem POTUS  was not going to be able to use his favorite phrase “You’re Fired!!”

Can’t deprive the boss of his fun.

This does create a bit of a quandary with what will happen to the Russia Special Counsel investigation with Robert Mueller. The investigation that Mueller is running gets its marching orders directly from Rosenstein. Will the next person tighten the reins or keep it as business as usual.

We will find out Thursday and as there is nothing going on (like a hearing in the Senate) I’m sure this will be a boring day otherwise.

In case you missed my other post on another subject Democrat Keith Ellison Is Everything Dems Accuse Kavanaugh Of Being  and my podcast Bourbon On The Rocks check it out and follow me on the twitters at IRISHDUKE2