In Tweet, Trump Turns On Rod Rosenstein Over Investigation ‘Witch Hunt’

Rod Rosenstein Image by Getty Images

By Nathan Guttman June 16, 2017

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein is the latest to feel the wrath of President Trump.

In an early morning tweet Trump lamented: “I am being investigated for firing the FBI Director by the man who told me to fire the FBI Director! Witch Hunt.”

The man the president is referring to is Rosenstein, who at the request of Trump and AG Jeff Sessions compiled an opinion supporting the firing of Comey because of the manner in which he dealt with Hillary Clinton’s email investigation. Trump later admitted in a TV interview he had fired Comey because of the way he was conducting the ongoing investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 elections.

This is the first time the President is taking aim at Rosenstein, a Trump nominee who previously served as the U.S. Attorney for the state of Maryland and who was widely seen as being non-partisan.

The tweet also served as the first on-record confirmation by Trump that he is under investigation for obstruction of justice for firing Comey.

Contact Nathan Guttman at guttman@forward.com or on Twitter @nathanguttman

Nathan Guttman, staff writer, was the Forward’s Washington bureau chief. He joined the staff in 2006 after serving for five years as Washington correspondent for the Israeli dailies Haaretz and The Jerusalem Post. In Israel, he was the features editor for Ha’aretz and chief editor of Channel 1 TV evening news. He was born in Canada and grew up in Israel. He is a graduate of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

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