OP-ED: Fire Rod Rosenstein and restore DOJ's credibility

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein's leadership of the Department of Justice is rife with problems.

Most recently is the report that he indicated that he would wear a wire to secretly record President Trump for the purpose of gathering evidence that would support a charge that the president is mentally unstable.

Rosenstein suggests that he was not serious, but his lack of respect for this president is evidenced by his discussion of spying on the president. It undermines Rosenstein's credibility and Trump's ability to trust his closest advisers.

Equally vexing is Rosenstein's protection of the entrenched at the highest levels of DOJ and members of the FBI who abused their power to prevent candidate Trump from becoming President Trump. Rosenstein has stonewalled congressional requests for documents needed to conduct oversight into corruption at the highest levels of the DOJ and FBI. When he has deigned to provide documents, they have generally been heavily redacted, not to protect national security, but to prevent embarrassing revelations of DOJ wrongdoings.

Additionally, Rosenstein is the person who is supposed to oversee the Robert Mueller investigation. Instead of controlling the investigation, he has sat inert, allowing Mueller to run well outside the anticipated scope and constitutional bounds. Rosenstein has hindered the efforts of Congress's oversight responsibilities.

Perhaps Rosenstein will be remembered for his persistent defense of and perpetuation of the DOJ's double standard of justice: one for the Washington elite who are preferred by the establishment, and one for the rest of the public.

We must restore the credibility of our justice system. That restoration cannot happen until Mr. Rosenstein leaves the DOJ.