Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein is standing behind Attorney General William Barr and the way he has handled Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report.
Barr gave Congress a four-page letter summarizing his interpretation of the findings, but has yet to release the actual report. Democrats have pushed back, demanding the full report be released, and this week, Barr said he is working on getting a redacted version out. In an interview Thursday with The Wall Street Journal, Rosenstein said Barr is "being as forthcoming as he can, and so this notion that he's trying to mislead people, I think is just completely bizarre." The public, he added, should have "tremendous confidence" in Barr.
On Wednesday, Barr told lawmakers he was putting together a team to investigate the origins of Mueller's probe, because "spying on a political campaign is a big deal." Democrats objected to his use of the word "spying," and on Thursday, former FBI Director James Comey said it's "concerning" to hear that kind of language, "because the FBI and Department of Justice conduct court-ordered electronic surveillance. I have never thought of that as spying." Rosenstein refused to comment on the inquiry.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.