Jonathan Chait: “President Trump’s progress in corrupting the Department of Justice — and, to some extent, the entire federal government — into a weapon of his autocratic aspirations relies on the acquiescence of figures like Rod Rosenstein. It is the Rosensteins who translate the president’s lizard-brain impulses into practical directives and create a patina of normalcy around them. (Or, in some increasingly rare cases, refuse to do so.)”

“And so Rosenstein’s spate of valedictory remarks attempting to cleanse and justify his service to Trump give us real insight into the worldview of the compliant bureaucratic functionary.”

“Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein submitted his resignation letter to President Trump on Monday, ending a tumultuous two years in which he tried to steady a rocky Justice Department and its relationship with the White House,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

His resignation is effective May 11.

Washington Post: “Rod Rosenstein, again, was in danger of losing his job. The New York Times had just reported that — in the heated days after James B. Comey was fired as FBI director — the deputy attorney general had suggested wearing a wire to surreptitiously record President Trump. Now Trump, traveling in New York, was on the phone, eager for an explanation.”

“Rosenstein — who, by one account, had gotten teary-eyed just before the call in a meeting with Trump’s chief of staff — sought to defuse the volatile situation and assure the president he was on his team, according to people familiar with matter. He criticized the Times report, published in late September, and blamed it on former deputy FBI director Andrew McCabe, whose recollections formed its basis. Then he talked about special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation of Russia’s interference in the 2016 election and told the president he would make sure Trump was treated fairly.”

Said Rosenstein: “I give the investigation credibility. I can land the plane.”

Deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein “attacked the Obama administration, former law enforcement officials, the press and his own critics in a fiery speech on Thursday night that he used to defend his handling of the Russia investigation,” the New York Times reports.

“He blamed the previous administration for doing too little to publicize Russia’s campaign to sabotage the 2016 election while it was underway, and he called out the F.B.I. and Congress for leaks about the case… He left unmentioned that Republican congressional leaders urged former President Barack Obama to keep quiet about the Kremlin’s operation during the presidential race.”

“Four months ago, shortly after President Trump’s Twitter account sent out an image suggesting Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein should be prosecuted and imprisoned for appointing special counsel Robert Mueller, the president took the rare step of telling Rosenstein it was a mistake,” ABC News reports.

“The previously unreported anecdote reflects how — despite unrelenting attacks on Mueller, Mueller’s team and others at the Justice Department — Trump often tried to avoid clashes with Rosenstein, the person who appointed Mueller in the first place.”

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein “appeared to be trying to dampen expectations about what the public might see of special counsel Robert Mueller’s widely-expected report, noting that federal prosecutors typically don’t describe conduct that falls outside the scope of criminal charges,” NBC News reports.

Said Rosenstein: “The guidance I always gave my prosecutors and the agents that I worked with during my tenure on the front lines of law enforcement was: If we aren’t prepared to prove our case beyond a reasonable doubt in court, then we have no business making allegations against American citizens.”

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein is expected to leave the Justice Department in mid-March, CNN reports.

ABC News: “Jeff Rosen, the current deputy at Transportation, is newly-confirmed Attorney General William Barr’s top pick to become deputy attorney general.”

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein intends to stay in his post until special counsel Robert Mueller “submits a report to the Justice Department on the Russian meddling investigation,” NBC News reports.

“The source said that would mean Rosenstein would remain until early March.”

“Several legal sources have said they expect the Mueller team to submit its report by mid-to-late February, although they said that timeline could change based on unforeseen investigative developments.”

President Trump sharply criticized Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein in a New York Post interview, “hours after retweeting an image showing Rosenstein and several other current and former officials locked in a prison cell,” the Washington Post reports.

Asked why he believes Rosenstein belongs behind bars, Trump replied: “He should have never picked a special counsel.”

“Trump declined to answer a follow-up question on whether he intends to fire Rosenstein.”

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein is no longer overseeing special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Russian election meddling — following the resignation of Jeff Sessions, the New York Post reports.

Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker will now oversee the investigation, a Justice Department spokeswoman said.

The Justice Department also confirmed to The Hill that Whitaker will now oversee the Russia probe instead of Rosenstein.

The Daily Beast reports Rosenstein was on his way to the White House.

President Trump said he does not plan to fire Rod Rosenstein, the Justice Department official in charge of the federal investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, Reuters reports.

Said Trump: “I get along very well with him.”

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and President Trump “planned to travel to Florida together on Air Force One Monday morning, a week and a half after the two were scheduled to discuss remarks Mr. Rosenstein had made about the president’s fitness for office and an offer to secretly tape conversations with him,” the New York Times reports.

n the days following those revelations, Mr. Rosenstein told senior White House officials, including John F. Kelly, Mr. Trump’s chief of staff, that he wished to resign.

“President Trump’s highly anticipated meeting with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein could be delayed again,” the Washington Post reports.

“White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Sunday that Trump and Rosenstein could meet this week — a date hasn’t been set — but she added that the meeting could be delayed again given the continued focus on Kavanaugh’s nomination.”

Jonathan Swan: “Shortly after Axios published its story this morning, saying that Rod Rosenstein had ‘verbally resigned’ to John Kelly, Justice Department spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores drafted a statement that would announce Rosenstein’s departure, written in the voice of Attorney General Jeff Sessions.”