Special-counsel pick could boost faith in Justice Department

WASHINGTON -- There could be a side benefit for Rod Rosenstein in appointing a special counsel to head an investigation into possible Russian coordination with the Trump campaign: reviving his own reputation, heavily battered for his role in the firing of James Comey, who had been leading the probe.

The Wednesday decision to name former FBI director Robert Mueller, an apolitical outsider, to oversee the case seemed intended to restore public faith in an independent Justice Department after a series of headache-inducing headlines. But Rosenstein's own professional standing could start to recover as well.

"He appointed Mueller because he was cognizant enough to understand whether or not he thought he could be fair in the investigation was irrelevant," said Steven Silverman, a Baltimore attorney who has known Rosenstein for years. "The important part is the public perception of the Russia investigation."

"Kudos for him for recognizing that appearances are equally important as a fair and just process and investigation," Silverman added.

At his March confirmation hearing for the job of deputy attorney general, Rosenstein refused to commit to the appointment of a special counsel to oversee an investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, saying he was aware of no requirement to recuse himself and had no firsthand knowledge of the probe anyway.

Much has changed since then.

Wednesday's move followed mounting questions from Democrats about the ability of Justice Department leaders to carry out the probe independent of the White House.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself in March after acknowledging undisclosed contacts with the Russian ambassador during the campaign, leaving the matter in Rosenstein's hands.

Yet Rosenstein himself has come under intense criticism in the last week as the author of a memo that chastised Comey for his handling of the Hillary Clinton email case, which the White House initially cited as justification for the firing.

President Donald Trump later acknowledged he already had thought about dismissing Comey and was perturbed by "this Russia thing," fueling criticism Rosenstein's memo merely served as a pretext so the president could fire a law-enforcement official conducting an aggressive investigation into his campaign.

The timeline was muddled further Thursday when Democrats emerged from a closed-door meeting with Rosenstein saying he knew Comey would be removed prior to writing the memo, even as Trump insisted again he had gotten a "very, very strong recommendation from Rosenstein."

No matter the reason for the firing, public outcry mounted for Rosenstein to appoint an independent outsider to oversee the probe. It was an unusual spot for the veteran prosecutor, who cultivated a reputation as an apolitical law enforcement official.

Rosenstein publicly has denied being conscious of his reputation, telling a Baltimore business group this week: "I took an oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. There is nothing in that oath about my reputation."

"After my 10th day on my new job in Washington, D.C., a friend sent me a text message that said, 'You need to get out of there!'" Rosenstein said.

"I said, 'There's no place I'd rather be.'"

Yet there's no question Comey's firing at least temporarily hobbled Rosenstein's public standing. Friends and former colleagues said it's been tough to see him in such a difficult spot, especially when they consider him to be upright, impartial and an unlikely political pawn.

"It is difficult to see a friend of yours being in the middle of that," said Jan Paul Miller, a St. Louis attorney who worked with Rosenstein when both were assistant federal prosecutors in Maryland. "You've got the talking heads pontificating about someone I know well, when they don't know him at all and they don't have all the facts. They have no problem slamming him. ... That's hard to watch."