It's high time Rod Rosenstein recuse himself

[Right_in_Virginia]

It's high time Rod Rosenstein recuse himself
The Hill, Aug 7, 2017, Jonathan Turley

<snip>

Rosenstein was consulted about firing Comey and supported the decision with a memorandum shredding the former FBI director. Moreover, when the White House initially made it sound like Rosenstein was the reason that Comey was fired (despite the fact that Trump had already decided to do so before receiving Rosenstein’s memo in support of termination), Rosenstein reportedly demanded a correction.

Rosenstein will likely be a key witness on the obstruction issue. As someone who supported the firing, he may be as important to the defense as to the prosecution in showing the independent grounds for terminating Comey. He has much at stake professionally, as shown by his adamant response to the White House spin. The grand jury might want to know why Rosenstein did not act to protect Comey or why he did not confront Trump in any suggested desire to curtail the investigation.

It is a basic rule that prosecutor should immediately recuse himself from a matter where he may be a witness. In addition to the various grounds listed in the conflicts rule, recusal is appropriate in “circumstances other than those set forth in the regulation that would cause a reasonable person with knowledge of the facts to question an employee’s impartiality.” Rosenstein, who has recognized his problem as a potential witness, should have recused himself long ago.

Rosenstein clearly agreed with the recusal of Sessions (as did most of us) to avoid even an appearance of a conflict. The deputy attorney general has more than an appearance of a conflict. Not only did Rosenstein appoint someone with close ties to the main accuser of President Trump, but he himself reportedly clashed with the White House on its post-firing account on Comey. Yet, Rosenstein is reaffirming that he will continue to make decisions on the scope and resources for the investigation.


More: http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/the-administration/345538-opinion-why-its-high-time-rod-rosenstein-recuse-himself

[Right_in_Virginia]

Jonathan Turley's bio:

Professor Jonathan Turley is a nationally recognized legal scholar who has written extensively in areas ranging from constitutional law to legal theory to tort law. He has written over three dozen academic articles that have appeared in a variety of leading law journals at Cornell, Duke, Georgetown, Harvard, Northwestern, University of Chicago, and other schools.

After a stint at Tulane Law School, Professor Turley joined the George Washington faculty in 1990 and, in 1998, was given the prestigious Shapiro Chair for Public Interest Law, the youngest chaired professor in the school’s history. In addition to his extensive publications, Professor Turley has served as counsel in some of the most notable cases in the last two decades including the representation of whistleblowers, military personnel, judges, members of Congress, and a wide range of other clients. He is also one of the few attorneys to successfully challenge both a federal and a state law — leading to courts striking down the federal Elizabeth Morgan law as well as the state criminalization of cohabitation.

More:  https://jonathanturley.org/about/

[Oceander]

So, will Prof. Turley be filing an ethics complaint against Rosenstein?  Will anybody else here?

[Right_in_Virginia]

So, will Prof. Turley be filing an ethics complaint against Rosenstein?  Will anybody else here?

Certainly not here @Oceander   

[Oceander]

Certainly not here @Oceander   

Then it's all just blather, isn't it. 

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

Eventually the Trumpers will want every single individual in the DC metro area to recuse themselves.

[Oceander]

Eventually the Trumpers will want every single individual in the DC metro area to recuse themselves.

There's a certain logic to the argument, but if he's not going to recuse, and if it's as obvious as the professor states, then someone concerned should file an ethics complaint with the bar he's admitted in.  Anyone can file a complaint.