Rosenstein says it's 'bizarre' to think Barr is misleading the public

(Image credit: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images)

published 12 April 2019

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.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.