US Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein resigns

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, the Justice Department official who appointed special counsel Robert Mueller to lead the Russia investigation, is now, finally and officially, stepping down. 

Rosenstein submitted his not exactly subtle resignation letter to the president on April 29, indicating that his last day in office will be May 11. 

The announcement comes as no surprise to President Donald Trump, who had already nominated Deputy Transportation Secretary Jeffrey Rosen as his replacement. 

Rosenstein was expected to resign in March, but he chose to stay on longer to assist Attorney General William Barr with the public release of the Mueller investigation report. 

Following the recusal of then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions in May 2017, Rosenstein appointed Mueller and oversaw much of his work. 

Over the past two years, the veteran Republican prosecutor defended Mueller's investigation against attacks from congressional Republicans and Trump, who had dubbed it as a "witch hunt." 

Ultimately, Mueller concluded that no one with Trump's campaign had conspired to collude with Russia. The report did not reach a conclusion on whether or not the president had committed obstruction of justice. 

Rosenstein then joined Attorney General Barr in determining on behalf of the Justice Department that the president had not obstructed justice. 

In his resignation letter, Rosenstein told Trump that he had helped bring officials into the Justice Department that were "devoted to the values that make America great," adding that he and others "always put America first." 

"I am grateful to you for the opportunity to serve; for the courtesy and humor you often display in our personal conversations; and for the goals you set in your inaugural address: patriotism, unity, safety, education and prosperity, because 'a nation exists to serve its citizens,'" he told the president. 

Rosenstein highlighted the positive aspects of the Mueller probe he oversaw, saying the country's elections were now "more secure" and that citizens were "better informed about covert foreign influence efforts." 

"We enforce the law without fear or favor because credible evidence is not partisan and truth is not determined by opinion polls," Rosenstein wrote.