Rosenstein just testified that he would not have signed the warrant application in 2017 on Carter Page because of the misconduct of FBI agents and the lack of evidence. He said he did not know that the Steele dossier was discredited by that time. He said McCabe particularly...
..."was not candid ... or forthcoming." Notably, we now know that the Flynn investigation found no criminal acts by December 2016 and now Rosenstein said he would have ended the investigation of Page which was the focus of the early justifications of the Russian investigation.
Rosenstein just said he did not know that investigators by the early January 2017 asked for Flynn to be removed from the Crossfire Hurricane investigation. He signed off on these warrants and applications but was never informed of those critical facts.
Rosenstein insists that the information in appointing Mueller was based on that incomplete information at the time. He admitted that by August 2017 when he signed off on the Mueller investigation there was no evidence at all of collusion with the Russians.
Sen. Feinstein did a good job framing the use (or non-use) of the Steele dossier but went off the rails by stressing that none of the prosecutions relied on the dossier. However, the fact is that there was never any prosecution of any Trump person for colluding or conspiring ...
...with the Russians. There was never any evidence of collusion with the Russian, a point reaffirmed by Rosenstein today. This hearing shows the value of oversight and the still unanswered questions in light of recently released material.
Grassley just said Rosenstein misled him and the public on the Flynn case. Rosenstein insisted that he did not know about the exculpatory evidence on Flynn and "that was news to me." Rosenstein also said that he supports Durham investigating the dossier matter.
...Rosenstein said that he is "concerned very much" about the evidence known to the FBI that Steele's evidence may have been part of a Russian "disinformation campaign." Footnote 350 on the IG report has been more fully revealed that supports that claim...
...of possible use of Steele by Russian intelligence. Rosenstein noted that he believed that the Russians were actively trying to hurt or disparage not just Hillary Clinton but also Donald Trump.
...Durbin pressed Rosenstein on Barr's criticism of the Russian investigation as "corrupt" and "baseless." Rosenstein's response notably only objected to calling it "corrupt." It came off like asking "are you a vicious defamer" and the defendant responding "I am not vicious."
...Rosenstein admitted to Lee that he was entirely unaware of false and erroneous material when he approved the FISA warrant. He admitted, if he knew of the omissions, he would never have signed off on the application...
...Rosenstein just said that he would have preferred a "more politically diverse" group of prosecutors but still maintains that he does not believe political bias was a factor. I think Rosenstein is doing well in being honest and direct to both sides.
...an interesting distinction drawn by Lee between "lying" and not being "candid." Rosenstein said McCabe never told him for a week about the concerns and just revealed it "hours before" it appeared in the New York Times. Rosenstein said that the information was important to know
I am switching over to the blog now for any running commentary on the hearing. jonathanturley.org/2020/06/03/ros…
Sen. Hirono seems to be making a case for the Administration. She just prompted Rosenstein to say that he agreed with the view that there was no evidence of obstruction of justice. She prompted Rosenstein to say that "he agrees that there was no evidence of a crime" by Trump.
...Hirono pressed Rosenstein on how a "1000 prosecutors disagreed" with him. Rosenstein said "we have a lot more than 1000 former prosecutors." He said that they did not know the full record. He did. Rosenstein said it was unfair. "Nobody was in favor of prosecution."
McCabe just called Rosenstein's claims of being mislead are "completely false" and that Rosenstein was "fully briefed." McCade calls it a "sad attempt" using Rosenstein as a "willing accessory."
Rosenstein said that he has not accused McCabe of "misrepresentations" but that he was "not forthcoming" and withheld important information. He stands by the statement that "for whatever reason" he withheld information that he (Rosenstein) had a "right to know."
