Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/794700
ByEricTucker The Associated Press WASHINGTON Some Dem- ocrats worry the appoint- ment of a Jeff Sessions sub- ordinate to oversee an in- vestigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election won't be a clean enough break from the em- battled attorney general. But the veteran prosecu- tor in line for the job may be uniquely politically pal- atable. Rod Rosenstein, who faces his confirmation hear- ing next week for the role of deputy attorney general, was appointed top federal prosecutor in Maryland by George W. Bush and re- mained in the post for the entire Obama administra- tion. That staying power, extraordinary for a posi- tion that routinely turns over with changes in the White House, lends weight to the reputation he's culti- vated as an apolitical law enforcement official. "He is so well-respected. He cannot be influenced, he cannot be bought, he can- not be pressured because of outside political forces," said Baltimore criminal de- fense attorney Steven Sil- verman, who has known Rosenstein for years. Sessions recused himself from any Trump-Russia in- vestigation Thursday after the Justice Department ac- knowledged he had spoken twice with the Russian am- bassador last year and had failedtodisclosethecontacts during his Senate confirma- tionprocess.Sessionssaidhe had not tried to mislead any- onebutcouldhavebeenmore careful in his answers. The new attorney gener- al's recusal handed author- ity for an investigation — for now — to his deputy, Dana Boente, another longtime federal prosecutor who has the post in an acting capac- ity. Boente was appointed U.S. attorney for the East- ern District of Virginia in 2015 by Barack Obama and was elevated to acting at- torney general in January after Trump fired Obama holdover Sally Yates. When Sessions won confirmation, Boente stepped to the No. 2 position. Once Rosenstein is con- firmed, he'll take over re- sponsibility for any probes touching the Trump cam- paignandRussianmeddling. He arrives at the Jus- tice Department with ex- perience in politically freighted investigations, having earlier in his ca- reer been part of the Clin- ton-era Whitewater inde- pendent investigation. When he was a U.S. at- torney, his office also led the leak prosecution of Thomas Drake, the former National Security Agency official who pleaded guilty to a minor misdemeanor after more serious charges of mishandling documents were dropped. He more re- cently oversaw the probe of James Cartwright, the for- mer Joint Chiefs of Staff vice chairman who ad- mitted making false state- ments during a separate leak investigation and was ultimately pardoned by Obama. "It's hard to imagine a more challenging en- vironment in which to come in as the deputy at- torney general than what we have now," said Jason Weinstein, who served un- der Rosenstein in the U.S. attorney's office in Mary- land. "Having said that, I can't imagine a better per- son for the job right now than Rod." Regardless, the Sessions recusal did little to assuage demands from some Dem- ocrats that the investiga- tion be removed entirely from the Justice Depart- ment and given to an out- side prosecutor. Rep. Adam Schiff of Cal- ifornia, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, called the Ses- sions recusal "deeply inad- equate" and said he was troubled by the number of Trump associates who he contended have either made misleading state- ments or concealed com- munications with Russia. "I also think for the pub- lic to have confidence that any prosecutorial decision is made truly independent of the administration, that the extra remedy of a spe- cial counsel is really war- ranted here," Schiff said in an interview. There is precedent for the selection of a special counsel by the Justice De- partment for especially sensitive investigations, though there's no indica- tion yet that federal offi- cials are planning to seek such an appointment. WASHINGTON Next in line to lead Russia probe: Rosenstein has respect BRIANWITTE—THEASSOCIATEDPRESSFILE Maryland U.S. Attorney Rod Rosenstein speaks in Greenbelt, Md. Rosenstein is on tap to lead a federal investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. By Ken Thomas The Associated Press WASHINGTON A White House spokeswoman said Friday that Vice President Mike Pence "did everything to the letter of the law" af- ter public records revealed that he used a private email account to conduct public business as Indiana's gov- ernor. The Indianapolis Star re- ported that emails provided through a public records re- quest show that Pence com- municated with advisers through his personal AOL account on homeland se- curity matters and secu- rity at the governor's resi- dence during his four years as governor. The governor also faced email security is- sues. Pence's AOL account was subjected to a phish- ing scheme last spring, be- fore he was chosen by Don- ald Trump to join the GOP presidential ticket. Pence's contacts were sent an email falsely claiming that the governor and his wife were stranded in the Philippines and needed money. As Trump's running mate, Pence frequently crit- icized rival Hillary Clin- ton's use of a private email server as President Barack Obama's secretary of state, accusing her of purposely keeping her emails out of public reach and shielding her from scrutiny. Sarah Sanders, the White House spokeswoman, dou- bled down on that defense, stressed to reporters on Air Force One that state and federal laws are different and claiming that is efforts to turn over the messages to be archived are "why any- body even knows about the account." "He did everything to the letter of the law," she said. Pence spokesman Marc Lotter added that "the com- parison is absurd" because Clinton had set up a pri- vate server in her home at the start of her tenure at the State Department and, un- like Clinton, Pence did not handle any classified mate- rial as Indiana's governor. The governor moved to a different AOL account with additional security mea- sures, but has since stopped using the new personal ac- count since he was sworn- in as vice president, said Lotter. VICE PRESIDENT White House defends Pence's private email use By Colleen Long The Associated Press NEW YORK A former jour- nalist fired for fabricating details in stories made at least eight of the scores of threats against Jewish in- stitutions nationwide, in- cluding a bomb threat to New York's Anti-Defama- tion League, as part of a bi- zarre campaign to harass and frame his ex-girlfriend, federal officials said Friday. Juan Thompson, 31, was arrested in St. Louis and appeared there in federal court Friday on a cyber- stalking charge. He po- litely answered questions and told the judge he had enough money to hire a lawyer. A crowd of supporters who attended would say only that Thompson had no criminal record. His lawyer didn't comment. Federal officials have been investigating 122 bomb threats called in to Jewish organizations in three dozen states since Jan. 9 as well as a rash of vandalism at Jewish cem- eteries. Thompson started mak- ing his own threats Jan. 28, a criminal complaint said, with an email to the Jewish History Museum in New York City written from an account that made it ap- pear as if it was being sent by an ex-girlfriend. "Juan Thompson put 2 bombs in the History Mu- seum set to go off Sunday," it said. He followed that up with similar messages to a Jew- ish school in Farmington Hills, Michigan, and to a school and community cen- ter in Manhattan, author- ities said. In another round of emails and phone calls, he gave the woman's name, rather than his own, the court complaint said. The Council on American-Is- lamic Relations received an anonymous email say- ing the woman put a bomb in a Dallas Jewish center. Thompson, who's black, then took to Twitter: "Know anygoodlawyers?"hewrote. "Needtostopthisnasty/rac- ist #whitegirl I dated who sent a bomb threat in my name." He later tweeted to theSecretService:"I'mbeen (sic) tormented by an anti- Semite. She sent an anti- jewish bomb threat in my name. Help." But police say it was a hoax created to make the woman look guilty. He also made threats in which he identified the woman as the culprit, authorities said. It's not clear why Jew- ish organizations were tar- geted. President Donald Trump suggested in a meeting Tuesday with state at- torneys general that the threats against Jewish community centers may have been designed to make "others look bad," according to Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Sha- piro. Trump has also come forward to condemn vio- lence against Jewish orga- nizations. Thompson was fired from the online publication The Intercept last year after being accused of fabricat- ing several quotes and cre- ating fake email accounts to impersonate people, in- cluding the Intercept's edi- tor-in-chief. One of the sto- ries involved Dylann Roof, the Charleston, South Car- olina, church shooter. Thompson had written that a cousin named Scott Roof claimed the white gunman was angry that a love in- terest chose a black man over him. A review showed there was no cousin by that name. The story was re- tracted. The Intercept wrote Fri- day it was "horrified" to learn of his arrest. The Federal Communi- cations Commission said Friday that it will grant an emergency waiver that allows Jewish community centers and their phone carriers to track the num- bers of callers who make threats, even if the caller tries to block the number. It said U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer had requested such a waiver earlier in the week. According to the crim- inal complaint, Thomp- son and the victim, a so- cial worker, broke up last summer. The following day, her boss received an email purporting to be from a na- tional news organization saying she'd been pulled over for drunken driving. The harassment got worse, authorities said. She received an anonymous email with nude photos of herself and a threat to re- lease them. The company, a nonprofit that works to end homelessness, got faxes saying she was anti-Se- mitic. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children got a note saying the woman watched child porn. NEW YORK Man charged in Jewish center threats to frame ex InPrintEveryTuesday-Thursday-Saturday Online:Publishes24/7 www.redbluffdailynews.com Threeadditionalonline locations at no extra cost! Print and On-Line HOMESERVICESDIRECTORY Full Size $ 117 .50 Per Month No early cancellation, non-refundable TWOSIZESTOCHOOSEFROM Half Size $ 70 .00 Per Month Construction Burrows Construction Remodel, New Additions, Siding Repair and Replacement, Water and Dryrot New Construction Foundation to Finish Ph:(530) 515-9779 Residential•Commerical PATIOS•DECKS REFRENCES Lic#824770 Roofing Call for Estimates! 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