Rod Rosenstein Image by Win McNamee/Getty Images

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Speaking to the Anti-Defamation League, Rod Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general at the center of President Donald Trump’s contentious relationship with his Justice Department, extolled the rule of law.

Rosenstein’s speech to the group, which itself has an adversarial relationship with the Trump administration, was on the surface a paean to Trump’s better angels, depicting Trump and his Attorney General Jeff Sessions as fellow warriors with the Anti-Defamation League in the battle against bias crimes.

But it was also a strident defense of adherence to the rule of law, with a long aside about the merits of resisting a ruler’s illegal orders. “We study the Holocaust not only to understand the depths of depravity that people can perpetrate, but also as a reminder to guard against the risk of moral corruption in our own time,” he said. “The importance of enforcing the rule of law is a central lesson of the Holocaust.”

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

The speech’s centerpiece was Rosenstein’s praise for the plea for unity Trump delivered in the aftermath of a racially charged killing — but Trump, notably, later retreated from those remarks, much to the chagrin of Jewish groups.

“One way that the Department of Justice helps to enforce the rule of law and deter discrimination is to prosecute hate crime violations,” Rosenstein, who is Jewish, said Sunday night at ADL’s annual Washington conference. “When victims are attacked because of their race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation, there are laws that empower us to respond. Enforcing those laws is important to President Trump and Attorney General Sessions, and we enforce them aggressively.”

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

$36 $500

$120 $180 Other amount