Did you hear Ari just say on Rachel that Rosenstein can't oversee the Mueller investigation?

giving the 'supervising' job at DOJ to Rachel Brand.

Former Bush official Rachel Brand takes over No. 3 position at Justice Dept.

'In some ways, Rachel Lee Brand followed a traditional path toward a high-ranking position in the Justice Department: an internship with her senator, an Ivy League law school, a Supreme Court clerkship, a legal job in the White House.

But Brand’s journey to becoming the first woman to serve as associate attorney general, the Justice Department’s third-highest-ranking official, had some unconventional features. The daughter and granddaughter of Dutch dairy farmers, she and her three siblings grew up in small-town Iowa. Seven years ago, when she went home to visit her family during the tulip festival in Pella, Brand donned her wooden shoes and joined 2,604 others in the town as it set the Guinness world record for the largest Dutch “klompen” dance.

Brand, 44, who was confirmed this month, now has to navigate a much more difficult dance as she takes the reins of what is considered by many the most politically challenging job in the Justice Department. As associate attorney general, Brand manages the lawyers who litigate civil rights, environmental and antitrust issues.'>>>

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/former-bush-official-rachel-brand-takes-over-no-3-position-at-justice-dept/2017/05/25/75e3aa80-40bb-11e7-8c25-44d09ff5a4a8_story.html

just 'reporting' what I just heard!

expert! I misinterpreted your post...

it's REMOTELY possible I could have figured it out, but I didn't; I'm just a RETIRED attorney!

so surprised.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rachel_Brand

"Brand is the chairman of the Federalist Society's Litigation Practice Group and co-chair of the American Bar Association Administrative Law Section's Government Information and Right to Privacy Committee."

regardless of her assumed politics. That's usually what we bureaucrats do.

handed it off to Lawrence.

But he wrote and signed Comey's firing letter, so no way could he avoid recusal.

I am surprised that Rachel did not know this, it has been in the MSM for a few weeks now.

Trump must really be behind the eight ball.

Whenever I hear him (like Kellyanne, Jeffrey Lord, etc) my blood pressure skyrockets.

if Mueller said he should recuse himself, he would - or something like that. Don't remember exactly. It was a week or so ago if memory serves, though I've lost all track of time since 11/8!

It seemed clear then, that it would be related to obstruction because of the memo and whatever related conversations Rosenstein and 45 had. I rather assumed it would get to that point because obstruction seemed like an obvious avenue to go down.

Rosenstein already, and my sense was that it depended how what he learned from Rosenstein started fitting in with other parts. We don't know what the two of them discussed, and certainly neither of them would leak. But since Mueller has now expanded the people he's talking to, thus the leaks, it returns to that issue. Ari can't know for certain, but legally Rosenstein can't be both a witness and oversee the investigation.

...(as expected) he will have to recuse himself from overseeing the investigation, as a prosecutor should avoid being the sole interviewer of a witness, being alone with a witness, or otherwise becoming an essential witness to any aspect of that investigation.

Rachel and Lawrence's reaction.

...and this would mean he couldn't oversee the investigation. However, we oughtn't assume that Rosenstein would also recuse from managing Mueller, given Sessions' claim that he could still fire Comey despite his own (self-)recusal.

I like him. He did a good job when she was out.

I don't expect her to know everything!

when she was confirmed. I hope she can remain non-partisan.

...for a good reason I'm sure (wish I knew)! Trump's EO of March 31, placing the AG from EDNC in the line, is interesting.

(warning, whitehouse web site link: https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/03/31/presidential-executive-order-providing-order-succession-within )

Would un-do the EO and put Boente back in the line.

But who knows...

And it was a busy news day. A lot to digest at once.