DAG Rod Rosenstein is speaking at the Newseum today for Law Day, stay tuned 
Q: What do you think is the most serious threat to the rule of law in America today?
Rosenstein: "I don't think there's any threat to the rule of law in America today," points to Trump's Law Day proclamation
Rosenstein: "I don't think there's any threat to the rule of law in America today," points to Trump's Law Day proclamation
Moderator asks if he can hand Rosenstein a piece of paper and have him read it. Rosenstein: "It's not a subpoena, is it?"
(It's a quote about the role of a prosecutor from former AG Robert Jackson)
Asked about what independence of the Justice Dept. means to Rosenstein, Rosenstein replies that DOJ is independent of "inappropriate" political considerations, but that doesn't mean its totally independent of the executive branch's priorities
Re: decisions about who to prosecute, Rosenstein said, "those decisions have to be made without regard to politics”
Asked about relations with Congress, Rosenstein said (speaking generally) that what's been established over time is that DOJ has a responsibility to work with Congress, but Congress has a responsibility not to interfere with ongoing investigations
Rosenstein said he and the AG have a responsibility to protect DOJ's independence. If they were to open up DOJ's files for Congress to rummage through, he said, that would implicate separation of powers (recall that Rs have been upset at how Rosenstein has handled doc issues)
Rosenstein was asked about the deletion of the "need for free press" section from the US Attorneys' Manual. Called framing "misleading," says section was rewritten to focus on confidentiality responsibilities of employees. Says 1A protected by the Constitution, not the manual
Here is our story about the changes to the US Attorneys' Manual, which is what Rosenstein was referring to: buzzfeed.com/zoetillman/the…
Rosenstein asked about deletion of language about racial gerrymandering in the USAM: Says he didn't know about it, but was told career staff made the recommendation, determined it was unnecessary and outdated, and addressed issues that hadn't come up in the past decade
Q&A time. Rosenstein asked what his mindset is on whether a sitting president can be indicted. He replied that DOJ has opined in the past, when the issue arose, that a sitting president cannot be indicted (made clear he was not answering in the context of any current matters)
Asked about reports that the House Freedom Caucus had drafted articles of impeachment against Rosenstein, he says he doesn't have anything to say about documents that people don't have the "courage" to put their name on. "The Department of Justice is not going to be extorted."
Asked what morale is like at DOJ as compared to five years ago, Rosenstein says it's high, based on his conversations with attorneys and law enforcement agencies
