Rod Rosenstein lands new gig at law firm
Former Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who oversaw special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, has landed a new job at international law firm King & Spalding.
The firm announced Wednesday that Rosenstein will work in its Washington, D.C., office and serve as a partner on its Special Matters and Government Investigations team, which helps clients in legal disputes with government agencies and states. The job is Rosenstein's first outside of the federal government in more than 30 years.
Rosenstein, who left the Justice Department in May following the conclusion of Mueller's probe, will join fellow former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates and former Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats at the firm. Yates warned the White House in January 2017 that former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn had lied to the administration about contacts with the former Russian ambassador to the U.S. She was fired later that month.
A former U.S. attorney in Maryland, Rosenstein served two years as the Justice Department's second highest-ranking official, though his tenure was marked by attacks on the agency and its leaders by Mr. Trump over Mueller's probe.
Rosenstein wrote a memo to then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions in May 2017 criticizing then-FBI Director James Comey, which the White House used to justify Comey's firing. Days after Comey's ouster, Rosenstein tapped Mueller to take over the Russia investigation.
Former Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe claimed in an interview with "60 Minutes" that Rosenstein discussed using the 25th Amendment to remove the president from office and suggested wearing a wire during conversations with Mr. Trump.
The Justice Department, however, said in February that based on Rosenstein's "personal dealings with the president, there is no basis to invoke the 25th Amendment, nor was the [deputy attorney general] in a position to consider invoking the 25th Amendment."
Rosenstein was replaced by Jeffrey Rosen.
