Twitter Flips Out Over Top DOJ Official Rachel Brand Stepping Down: ‘A Bad Omen’
Rachel Brand, the #3 at the DOJ, is stepping down for a job in the private sector (reportedly at Walmart), and already there’s a lot of Twitter speculation over what’s going on here.
The original New York Times report on Brand notes how this comes “as the country’s top law enforcement agency has been under attack by President Trump.”
So Twitter went wild about this decision and what it could mean:
Rachel Brand is brilliant and known for her impeccable integrity and fidelity to the rule of law and institutions of the country. Her departure is significant and worrisome. A bad omen for sure
— Steve Schmidt (@SteveSchmidtSES) February 9, 2018
Rachel Brand is getting out of there. She is way too smart to be in the third position at DOJ (Robert Bork’s job) during a Saturday Night Massacre.
No. 3 Official at the Justice Department Is Stepping Down https://t.co/8Li9rQZSgO
— Richard W. Painter (@RWPUSA) February 9, 2018
Rachel Brand does *not* want these problems.
— Spencer Ackerman (@attackerman) February 9, 2018
I said it last week on air with @chucktodd and I’ll say it again now: I have confidence in Rachel Brand, who is a first-rate lawyer and a very fine person. It will be interesting to find out why she is stepping down.
— Benjamin Wittes (@benjaminwittes) February 9, 2018
Rachel Brand leaving @TheJusticeDept may not be a big deal. Or it could be a monumentally big deal depending on who replaces her and whether @realDonaldTrump ever fires Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein. https://t.co/eBCZYTQS4g
— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) February 9, 2018
This is a bad sign. Honestly, maybe even more important than whether Trump interferes with Mueller is whether he gets to pack DOJ with stooges where there are currently serious & professional conservative attorneys. https://t.co/KvoOcvtqUF
— Julian Sanchez (@normative) February 9, 2018
She’s leaving because she is smart. Trump is corrupting the leadership of the Justice Department, wanting to run the place like a protection operation. https://t.co/JQNngLsO5j
— John Dean (@JohnWDean) February 9, 2018
WHOA. I'm quite confident there's a big story behind this development (but I don't know what it is).https://t.co/MWJZMPtftR
— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) February 9, 2018
*raises hand from the back of the room*
Um. Why?
— Jeffrey Wright (@jfreewright) February 9, 2018
Once upon a time, number 3 at DoJ would have been so coveted for a careerist that you wouldn’t leave after nine months https://t.co/3iaeXu1FDL
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) February 9, 2018
R's must commit to confirm only a qualified, career DOJ type to replace Brand.
Firing Rosenstein now becomes the bright red line/trip wire— Jennifer Rubin (@JRubinBlogger) February 9, 2018
What if there is no Saturday Night Massacre and instead mass suicide by resignations at DoJ?
— Amanda Carpenter (@amandacarpenter) February 9, 2018
And it’s a Rosenstein recusal, not firing, that would put the Associate AG in charge of Mueller. If Trump fired Rosenstein, he would presumably replace him with an acting DAG, and that person would supervise Mueller.
— Matthew Miller (@matthewamiller) February 9, 2018
[image via screengrab]
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