Rod Rosenstein stuck his neck out for Attorney General William Barr, but he may find -- again -- that his loyalty won't be rewarded.
The deputy attorney general signed on to Barr's letter summarizing a lengthy report by special counsel Robert Mueller, and he defended his boss as it becomes clear his conclusions were misleading, at best, reported the Washington Post.
“He’s being as forthcoming as he can, and so this notion that he’s trying to mislead people I think is just completely bizarre,” Rosenstein told the Wall Street Journal.
Rosenstein stuck his neck out for President Donald Trump by writing a letter criticizing former FBI director James Comey, which was used to justify his firing, but the deputy attorney general has stood by his decision in public -- even as the president has raged against him for appointing Mueller.
Privately, however, Rosenstein reportedly felt conflicted about his role in Comey's dismissal, but for now he's standing by Barr in public, and even went out of his way to speak with the Journal to defend the summary he helped prepare with the attorney general.
But he may come to regret that decision, especially with his time at the Department of Justice soon coming to an end.
"Rosenstein has now thrown in his lot with Barr," wrote Aaron Blake for the Post, "and he’ll find out whether that loyalty will be rewarded or won’t ... again."