羅德·羅森斯坦辭職：回顧他充滿爭議的任期
Chris Strohm，彭博社
2019-05-08
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美國司法部副部長羅德·羅森斯坦計劃于5月11日辭職。他曾任命羅伯特·穆勒擔任特別檢察官，他的做法得到過左派或右派的支持，也引發過他們的憤怒。此舉昭示著他充滿爭議的任期即將落下帷幕。 在周一給總統唐納德·特朗普的辭職信中，54歲的羅森斯坦寫道：“司法部在重點執法的領域進展迅速。我們執法時無所畏懼、不偏不倚，因為可靠的證據無關黨派，真相也不取決于民意調查。” 羅森斯坦是一位經驗豐富的聯邦檢察官，曾在兩個黨派的總統麾下任職。2017年5月，他任命穆勒調查俄羅斯對2016年總統大選的干涉，以及特朗普和其團隊是否“通俄”。面對特朗普和保守派盟友的不斷抨擊，羅森斯坦力挺穆勒并讓這位特別檢察官完成調查的舉動贏得了民主黨的稱贊。 去年，眾議院的一些共和黨人因為有報道稱羅森斯坦建議秘密記錄特朗普的言辭而呼吁將其解雇，不過羅森斯坦表示報道并不準確。羅森斯坦一度擔心特朗普會炒掉他，《華盛頓郵報》（Washington Post）上周援引一位不具名的政府官員的說法，稱羅森斯坦當時對總統表示：“我確保調查的真實可信，我能讓這件事平穩著陸。” 妨礙調查之爭 而在穆勒于上月提交最終報告之后，羅森斯坦表示穆勒沒有找到最夠的證據來指控特朗普妨礙調查。為此，民主黨人認為他站在了司法部長威廉·巴爾一邊而對他提出批評。 實際上，穆勒表示調查并未免除特朗普的妨礙嫌疑。根據他提交的一份于本月公布的編輯版報告顯示，之所以沒有按照慣例決定起訴，很大程度上是因為根據司法部的政策，在任總統通常不會被起訴。 2017年，羅森斯坦被特朗普任命為司法部的二號人物。喬治·W. 布什和巴拉克·奧巴馬在任期間，他在馬里蘭州擔任了12年的律師。1990年，他進入司法部，以不牽涉政治而聞名，致力于改善司法部的工作重點。 巴爾在周一的聲明中表示：“在他出色的從政生涯中，他憑借毅力、優雅和良好的脾氣度過了許多充滿挑戰的難關。在我回到司法部的過程中，羅德一直是我寶貴的伙伴，過去幾個月里，他的領導力和決斷力給了我很多依靠。” 穆勒的調查是羅森斯坦任期中影響最大的一件事。 “激進觀點” 羅森斯坦上周在紐約的演講中表達了怨恨與蔑視，嘲諷那些“收錢在各種話題下發表激進觀點的雇傭批評家”，并質疑了奧巴馬當局對俄羅斯干預總統大選的應對方式。 他表示：“在我任職之前，針對俄羅斯的調查就已經定下了一些關鍵決策。上任政府選擇不徹底公開有關俄羅斯計算機黑客和社交媒體欺詐的情況。” 羅森斯坦指的是詹姆斯·科米，后者被特朗普開除，才使得穆勒上任司法部副部長。他表示：“這位前FBI局長稱總統迫使他結束調查，但總統否認發生過這次談話。情況就是這樣。” 特朗普開除了曾經負責監督通俄門調查工作的科米，隨后羅森斯坦聘用了穆勒。 當時，作為特朗普競選早期支持者的司法部長杰夫·塞申斯要求回避2016年大選的相關事宜，因此羅森斯坦接替他負責調查，并在幾天后決定任命一位特別檢察官。 在公布有關通俄門調查的機密信息，以及有關司法部和FBI對希拉里·克林頓使用私人郵件服務器的調查過程上，國會的共和黨人也與羅森斯坦意見相左。 去年，眾議院的共和黨人甚至因為羅森斯坦拒絕交出他們認為會揭露通俄門調查可疑原委的內部文件而試圖對其發動彈劾。不過隨著共和黨人失去了對眾議院的掌控，彈劾也未能推進。（財富中文網） 譯者：嚴匡正 |
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein plans to resign on May 11, ending a controversial tenure in which he appointed Special Counsel Robert Mueller and took actions that won him praise — and anger — from both the right and left. “The Department of Justice made rapid progress in achieving the administration’s law enforcement priorities,” Rosenstein, 54, said in his resignation letter to President Donald Trump on Monday. “We enforce the law without fear or favor because credible evidence is not partisan, and truth is not determined by opinion polls.” Rosenstein, a veteran federal prosecutor who served under presidents of both parties, appointed Mueller in May 2017 to investigate Russia’s interference in the 2016 election and whether Trump or any of his associates conspired in the effort. He won praise from Democrats for defending Mueller and letting the special counsel carry out the investigation in the face of constant attacks by Trump and his conservative allies. Some House Republicans called for ousting Rosenstein last year after a report that he’d talked of someone wearing a wire to record Trump, an allegation he called inaccurate. At one point, fearing that Trump would fire him, Rosenstein told the president, “I give the investigation credibility. I can land the plane,” the Washington Post reported last week, citing an administration official it didn’t identify. Obstruction Debate Then, after Mueller submitted his final report last month, Democrats criticized Rosenstein for siding with Attorney General William Barr in announcing that Mueller didn’t find enough evidence to charge Trump with obstructing the investigation. In fact, Mueller said his investigation didn’t exonerate Trump on obstruction and declined to reach a traditional prosecution decision, largely because of a Justice Department policy that says a president can’t be indicted while in office, according to a redacted version of his report released this month. Rosenstein was chosen by Trump to be the No. 2 official at the Justice Department in 2017. He had served for 12 years as U.S. attorney for Maryland during the administrations of George W. Bush and Barack Obama. Rosenstein joined the Justice Department in 1990 and had a reputation as a non-political public servant, credited with helping reshape the department’s priorities. “Over the course of his distinguished government career, he has navigated many challenging situations with strength, grace, and good humor,” Barr said in a statement on Monday. “Rod has been an invaluable partner to me during my return to the department, and I have relied heavily on his leadership and judgment over the past several months.” No other issue loomed larger over Rosenstein’s tenure than the Mueller investigation. ‘Passionate Opinions’ Rosenstein struck notes of bitterness and defiance in a speech last week in New York, scoffing at “mercenary critics who get paid to express passionate opinions about any topic” and questioning the handling of Russia’s election interference under Obama. “Some critical decisions about the Russia investigation were made before I got there,” he said. “The previous administration chose not to publicize the full story about Russian computer hackers and social media trolls.” Referring to James Comey, whose firing by Trump led to Mueller being appointed, the deputy attorney general said “the former FBI director alleged that the president pressured him to close the investigation, and the president denied that the conversation occurred. So that happened.” Mueller was appointed by Rosenstein after Trump fired Comey, who had been overseeing the Russia investigation. Rosenstein made the decision to name a special counsel days after he took charge of the probe, which he inherited after Attorney General Jeff Sessions, an early Trump campaign supporter, recused himself from matters related to the 2016 election. Rosenstein also battled with congressional Republicans over releasing secret information about the Russia investigation, as well as information about how the Justice Department and FBI handled the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server. House Republicans last year even drafted articles of impeachment against Rosenstein for refusing to turn over internal documents that they said would reveal the questionable origins of the Russia investigation. Impeachment never went forward, as Republicans lost control of the House. |
