[Washington Examiner] Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein suggested Wednesday that former FBI Director James Comey broke agency protocol by leaking memos to the press about his meetings with President Trump."As a general proposition, you have to understand the Department of Justice. We take confidentiality seriously, so when we have memoranda about our ongoing matters, we have an obligation to keep that confidential," Rosenstein said on Fox News after being asked if it would ever be proper for an FBI director to take notes on a meeting with the president and then leak them to the press.
Rosenstein stressed he wouldn't answer direct questions about Comey. But when asked if he would approve of Comey's leak, he reiterated the duty of offiicals to keep things confidential. "I think it is quite clear," he said. "It's what we were taught, all of us prosecutors and agents."
The second-highest justice official defended special counsel Robert Mueller, who he appointed to oversee a probe of possible collusion between Trump's campaign associates and Russia. Rosenstein indicated the appointment was not a conflict of interest to that investigation.