Trump: Why isn’t the DOJ investigating the ‘media leak strategy’ Strzok and Page talked about in their texts?

By Dan Calabrese —— Bio and Archives September 11, 2018

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He’s their boss. Why doesn’t he tell them to? I’m sympathetic as ever with his frustration over the DOJ’s lack of interest in pursuing and prosecuting illegal leaks, especially in a case like this when the evidence that it was going on is plain as day and in the words of those who were clearly and obviously doing it. If you don’t pursue a case against people like that, why don’t you just go ahead and announce that you’ve taken the liberty of ignoring all laws you don’t feel like enforcing?

Yeah, that’s outrageous. Someone who has authority over these people should make them do their jobs. Anyone you can think of who has said authority?

A report late Monday on Fox News said GOP Rep. Mark Meadows sent a letter to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to alert him to the actions of Strzok and Page that were revealed in newly released text messages. “Review of these new documents raises grave concerns regarding an apparent systemic culture of media leaking by high-ranking officials at the FBI and DOJ related to ongoing investigations,” Meadows wrote in the letter. He said the House Oversight & Government Reform Committee discovered an April 10, 2017, text from Strzok to Page that said: “I had literally just gone to find this phone to tell you I want to talk to you about media leak strategy with DOJ before you go.” Then, two days later, Strzok reached out to Page to congratulate her for planting two stories that were critical of former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.

“Well done, Page,” Strzok wrote. Meadows’ letter notes that the Washington Post wrote a story on April 11, 2017, about the FBI receiving a FISA warrant to monitor Carter Page and that it had convinced a judge there was “probable cause to believe Page was acting as an agent of a foreign power, in this case Russia.” The message “should lead a reasonable person to question whether there was a sincere desire to investigate wrongdoing or to place derogatory information in the media to justify a continued probe,” Meadows wrote in the letter.

As often as Trump complains about the Sessions recusal – and not without considerable justification, since the recusal was idiotic and unnecessary – I think he forgets sometimes that the entire Department of Justice answers to him as a matter of constitutional authority. He is their boss. If he wants the DOJ to investigate Strzok/Page-perpetrated leaks, he can order it done. If it falls under a matter from which Sessions has recused himself, Trump can order Rod Rosenstein to investigate it. If Rosenstein doesn’t follow Trump’s orders, Trump can and should fire Rosenstein and appoint someone who will enforce the law as Trump wants it enforced. Constitutionally, there is one person in the United States ultimately responsible for the enforcement of federal law. It is not Jeff Sessions. It is not Rod Rosenstein. It is not Christopher Wray. It is Donald John Trump. That means it is not Rod Rosenstein’s decision whether the Strzok/Page leaks should be investigated. He can give his opinion, but if Trump decides to overrule him, Trump has the authority to do that. But if Trump’s decision is to complain about it on Twitter but not order the enforcement of the law, that is not on Rod Rosenstein. That is on Donald Trump. Make it happen, Mr. President.