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Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen not yet briefed on DOJ probe into origins of Russia probe
Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen said that he has yet to be briefed on the potentially volatile inquiry into possible surveillance abuses by federal authorities in the early days of the Russia investigation.
Rosen, in an interview with USA TODAY this week, said that he was unaware of the investigation
s status and did not know whether it has since morphed into a criminal inquiry.
I don
t know the answer to that. I
d have to check and get back to you. I hear it described as an inquiry. I don
t want to say something that won
t be accurate. So let me defer on that one.
The Justice Department later declined to elaborate. But Rosen
s deference on such a high-profile matter underscored the extreme close-hold on an inquiry launched by Attorney General William Barr and now managed by Connecticut U.S. Attorney John Durham.
It also highlights how Rosen, more than a month following his confirmation, has so far assumed a role largely out of the public eye in a stark departure from his predecessor, Rod Rosenstein, whose rocky two-year tenure was defined by his management of the Russia investigation and former Justice special counsel Robert Mueller.
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“It (the surveillance inquiry) started before I arrived,” Rosen said, adding that he was “not currently” being briefed on it. “I had some generalized awareness, but I’m not meeting regularly with Mr. Durham.”
In April, Barr startled some lawmakers when he disclosed that he was reviewing the FBI’s use of surveillance involving associates of President Donald Trump during the presidential campaign as authorities sought to understand Russia’s interference efforts. At the time, Barr said he did not know whether officials had done anything wrong, though the review’s disclosure was instantly cheered by some Republicans and Trump who has long disparaged Mueller’s work as a “witch hunt.”
“Spying on a campaign is a big deal,” Barr told a Senate panel then. “I think spying did occur. The question is whether it was adequately predicated.”
In May, the attorney general injected new urgency into that review when he tapped Durham, a long-time federal prosecutor, to review the “genesis and the conduct” of the FBI’s investigation into possible ties between the Trump campaign and Russia.
Durham’s appointment came just three days before Rosen’s confirmation as second-in-command at Justice.
Rosen: Jeffrey Rosen, Transportation official, nominated as Justice Department’s second-in-command to replace Rod Rosenstein
The inquiry is proceeding, as Justice’s inspector general is conducting its own review of how federal authorities obtained a warrant in 2016 to monitor former Trump foreign policy adviser Carter Page and his possible links to Russia. The results of that investigation are expected to be disclosed soon.
While not briefed on the Barr-Durham inquiry, Rosen nevertheless characterized it as “serious.”
“I’m not sealed out,” the deputy attorney general said, explaining that the attorney general had already taken on the coordinating role with Durham.
Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen not yet briefed on DOJ probe into origins of Russia probe
DOJ probe into origins of Russia investigation closely held; Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen not yet briefed
2019-07-05T17:29:16Z