NEWS ANALYSIS: US’s Rod Rosentein starts new job arguing case to axe Comey
Washington — The newly appointed second-in-command at the US justice department faced a weighty task just two weeks after taking office — writing the rationale for firing Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) director James Comey. Deputy attorney-general Rod Rosenstein argued the case for Comey’s sacking in a three-page memo to attorney-general Jeff Sessions on Tuesday. President Donald Trump acted swiftly to dismiss the director later that day. Rosenstein cited Comey’s controversial public statements about the bureau’s investigation into Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s use of a private e-mail server while she was secretary of state. "It is a textbook example of what federal prosecutors and agents are taught not to do," Rosenstein wrote of Comey’s public comments. Spokespeople for the department of justice and the FBI did not return calls seeking comment late onTuesday. Comey’s firing is likely to be seen as further evidence of Washington’s hyper-partisan upheava...
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