Many are having a hard time trying to figure out Rod Rosenstein’s recent public statement regarding anonymous sources and a warning to Americans about watching out for misinformation. The conventional wisdom seems to be some sort of cryptic defense of the Trump administration since it feeds into the fake news meme. It’s a pretty weird and weak statement by Rosenstein if it is a defense. This interpretation also begs the question — Why did Rosenstein release it now… especially with Trump throwing him under the bus?
Read Rosenstein’s statement again (my emphasis added).
Rosenstein Statement
"Americans should exercise caution before accepting as true any stories attributed to anonymous "officials," particularly when they do not identify the country—let alone the branch or agency of government—with which the alleged sources supposedly are affiliated. Americans should be skeptical about anonymous allegations. The Department of Justice has a long-established policy to neither confirm nor deny such allegations."
Now put that together with this Trump tweet.
“I am being investigated for firing the FBI Director by the man who told me to fire the FBI Director! Witch Hunt!”
I’ve been thinking about Rosenstein’s statement and I can’t get out of my head that it is a very important warning. But not a warning about anonymous sources leaking about Trump/Russia etc. My view is it is a warning to Americans and especially the press that anonymous foreign sources may be trying to plant stories about Comey, Mueller and/or Rosenstein himself. Discrediting the very people going after Trump is the only way for Trump and his minions to change the trajectory of the investigation which is getting worse by the minute for Don Cheetolone and his band of thugs.
For me this is almost Occam’s razor simple. Rosenstein’s statement is based on the likelihood that the FBI or IC in general has gotten wind of a smear campaign that may be coming out of Russia against the key figures going after Trump. It’s important to remember that this smear campaign could be based on lies; it could be based on dirty laundry dug up by the Russians; maybe by hacking personal emails/computers of Comey/Mueller/Rosenstein etc. or it could be a mixture of both.
Thoughts?