Rod Rosenstein says he wouldn't have okayed surveilling Trump aide if he knew about FISA errors


Yes, the Senate is still talking about former Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation.
Former Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday to kick off the committee's hearings on the FBI's probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Rosenstein oversaw the investigation, but noted that he wouldn't have okayed at least one part of it based on the information he has today.
Rosenstein signed off on four FISA warrants, which allow the surveillance of foreign agents, back in 2017 in the early days of the FBI investigation. One of those was for the surveillance of Carter Page, who was an aide to then-candidate Donald Trump. But as an inspector general report found after Mueller's report came out, the FBI's application to surveil Page had several errors; the IG did conclude the FISA error didn't affect the outcome of the investigation.
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.
Senate Judiciary Chair Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) questioned Rosenstein on his approval on Wednesday, asking "if you knew then what you knew now, would you have signed the warrant application?" "No I would not," Rosenstein quickly responded. Kathryn Krawczyk
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
Depleted FEMA struggling as hurricane season begins
speed read FEMA has lost a third of its workforce amid DOGE cuts enforced by President Donald Trump
-
White House tackles fake citations in MAHA report
speed read A federal government public health report spearheaded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was rife with false citations
-
Judge blocks push to bar Harvard foreign students
speed read Judge Allison Burroughs sided with Harvard against the Trump administration's attempt to block the admittance of international students
-
Trump's trade war whipsawed by court rulings
Speed Read A series of court rulings over Trump's tariffs renders the future of US trade policy uncertain
-
Elon Musk departs Trump administration
speed read The former DOGE head says he is ending his government work to spend more time on his companies
-
Trump taps ex-personal lawyer for appeals court
speed read The president has nominated Emil Bove, his former criminal defense lawyer, to be a federal judge
-
US trade court nullifies Trump's biggest tariffs
speed read The US Court of International Trade says Trump exceeded his authority in imposing global tariffs
-
Trump pauses all new foreign student visas
speed read The State Department has stopped scheduling interviews with those seeking student visas in preparation for scrutiny of applicants' social media