U.S. deputy attorney general who oversaw Mueller probe resigns

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U.S. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who chose Special Counsel Robert Mueller to lead the Russia interference probe and protected him from political intrusion, announced on Monday he is stepping down.

In a letter to President Donald Trump, Rosenstein said he would depart on May 11, after more than two turbulent years as the number two official in the Department of Justice.

The veteran Republican prosecutor, 54, stunned the country on May 17, 2017, when he named an independent lawyer to take on the Russia probe after Trump fired FBI director James Comey.

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein speaks at the Compliance Week 13th Annual Conference in Washington, U.S., May 21, 2018. /Reuters Photo

Then-attorney general Jeff Sessions had already recused himself from overseeing the investigation, leaving Rosenstein in charge.

That made Rosenstein effectively the one buffer between Mueller and the White House – a position that became even more crucial when the investigation began examining whether Trump himself had obstructed justice by firing Comey and then trying to have Mueller fired.

In his final report released on April 18, Mueller concluded that no one on Trump's campaign conspired to collude with Russians.

The Mueller Report on the Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election is pictured in New York, New York, U.S., April 18, 2019. /Reuters Photo

But he reached no conclusion on obstruction, detailing the evidence he had accumulated and leaving it to Congress to act.

Rosenstein had made clear last year that he would step down after Mueller's report was released.

In his resignation letter he said the Justice Department had made "rapid progress" in reducing crime, protecting consumers, and enforcing immigration laws during his tenure.

(Top image: U.S. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein stands for the pledge of allegiance at a summit about combating human trafficking at the Department of Justice in Washington, U.S., February 2, 2018. /Reuters Photo )

Source(s): AFP