U.S. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein released a statement Thursday night warning Americans against believing news stories attributed to anonymous sources, hours before he appeared to be the target of a presidential tweetstorm.
“Americans should exercise caution before accepting as true any stories attributed to anonymous ‘officials,’ particularly when they do not identify the country – let alone the branch or agency of government – with which the alleged sources supposedly are affiliated,” Rosenstein said in the statement, which was released by the Justice Department.
“The Department of Justice has a long-established policy to neither confirm nor deny such allegations.”
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It’s the first time Rosenstein has made public comments about the matter.
Rosenstein is the government lawyer responsible for overseeing the investigation into the Trump campaign’s alleged collusion with Russia during the 2016 presidential election, with Attorney General Jeff Sessions having recused himself from the probe.
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The former U.S. attorney for Maryland is understood to have played a key role in President Donald Trump‘s dismissal of former FBI director James Comey, with the White House citing a memo in which Rosenstein raised concerns over Comey’s performance.
On Friday morning, Trump appeared to confirm that he was being investigated for obstruction of justice in his firing of Comey, and seemed to take aim at Rosenstein.
Trump advisers and confidants describe the president as increasingly angry over the Russia investigation, yelling at television sets in the White House carrying coverage and insisting he is the target of a conspiracy to discredit – and potentially end – his presidency. Some of his ire is aimed at Rosenstein and investigative special counsel Robert Mueller, both of whom the president believes are biased against him, associates say.
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Dianne Feinstein, top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said she was “increasingly concerned” that Trump will fire both Mueller and Rosenstein.
Rosenstein told a congressional panel this week that he was not in favour of firing Mueller without just cause.
– With files from the Associated Press
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