Rod J. Rosenstein

On Thursday, Benjamin Wittes published his assessment of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein’s Dec. 13 testimony before the House Judiciary Committee. While I understand Ben’s considerable concern about the nature of the politics the hearing so openly displayed, I do think Rosenstein did two things that defended the credibility of the special counsel’s investigation.

I’m happy to be wrong, but I don’t expect the Deputy Attorney General’s recent speech to spark productive engagement in the standoff over encryption.

At 11 a.m. Friday morning, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein held a press conference on "Leaks of Classified Material Threatening National Security." Video of the press conference is available here and below.

In the weeks and months after the presidential election—and even before it—an unusual debate took shape on the pages of Lawfare and elsewhere: Would it be possible to serve ethically in a Trump administration? And even if it is possible, should a person of conscience do it?