This Is the Minefield Rod Rosenstein Is Navigating

The day after signing off on the memo used to justify the firing of FBI Director James Comey, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein went to a going-away party for Mary McCord, a veteran prosecutor with more than 20 years at the Department of Justice, who announced in April that she’d be stepping down. As acting assistant attorney general for national security, McCord had day-to-day oversight of the investigation into whether associates of Donald Trump colluded with Russia. With Comey out, McCord was about to become the third person to leave who’d had authority over the Russia probe. Rosenstein’s predecessor, Sally Yates, was fired as acting attorney general in January when she refused to defend Trump’s executive order banning immigrants from seven mostly Muslim countries.

McCord’s private send-off on the seventh floor of Justice Department headquarters had the usual fare—finger food and short speeches from top brass, according to two attendees. Attorney General Jeff Sessions was there, as was Comey’s temporary replacement, Andrew McCabe. While Sessions schmoozed, Rosenstein appeared stiff and uncomfortable, the two say. Right after giving a toast for McCord, whom he’s known for several years, Rosenstein slipped out the back door. He declined to comment for this story.