Secret Memo Hints at a New Republican Target: Rod Rosenstein

The following article by Nicolas Fandos, Adam Goldman and Sharon LaFraniere was posted on the New York Times website January 28, 2018:

Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein at a hearing in December. Mr. Rosenstein is said to have approved an application for surveillance of a former Trump associate. Credit Pete Marovich for The New York Times

WASHINGTON — A secret, highly contentious Republican memo reveals that Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein approved an application to extend surveillance of a former Trump campaign associate shortly after taking office last spring, according to three people familiar with it.

The renewal shows that the Justice Department under President Trump saw reason to believe that the associate, Carter Page, was acting as a Russian agent. But the reference to Mr. Rosenstein’s actions in the memo — a much-disputed document that paints the investigation into Russian election meddling as tainted from the start — indicates that Republicans may be moving to seize on his role as they seek to undermine the inquiry. Continue reading “Secret Memo Hints at a New Republican Target: Rod Rosenstein”

FBI director defends bureau’s integrity as GOP lawmakers press him on Trump, Clinton probes

The following article by Devlin Barrett and Ellen Nakashima was posted on the Washington Post website December 7, 2017:

During questioning from lawmakers on Dec. 7, FBI Director Christopher Wray responded to President Trump’s critical tweets from Dec. 3. (Reuters)

FBI Director Christopher A. Wray defended his agency’s integrity and independence in response to skeptical questioning Thursday from Republicans who repeatedly suggested its personnel are biased against President Trump.

Wray spent the morning being grilled at a hearing of the House Judiciary Committee about how FBI personnel — particularly a senior counterintelligence agent now the subject of an internal ethics investigation — handled sensitive probes of Trump and his former political rival, Hillary Clinton. Continue reading “FBI director defends bureau’s integrity as GOP lawmakers press him on Trump, Clinton probes”