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Rod Rosenstein says he doesn't plan to fire Robert Mueller anytime soon; Rwanda is pressuring France to admit its role in the 1994 genocide that killed thousands.
Robert Mueller’s job is safe for now
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- Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein testified in front of the House Judiciary Committee today and was put on the defensive as Republicans grilled him. [Vox / Alex Ward]
- They questioned him about whether the Justice Department could remain objective as special counsel Robert Mueller continues to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 election. [Washington Post / Matt Zapotosky and Devlin Barrett]
- That's a pointed question because of some leaked text messages from FBI agents. In texts exchanged before the 2016 election, one agent called the prospect of a Trump presidency "terrifying" and said Hillary Clinton "has to win." [WSJ / Brent Kendall and Aruna Viswanatha]
- Some Trump supporters seized on these comments as evidence of bias within Mueller's team. They have been joined by prominent Republicans, including Sens. Lindsey Graham and Chuck Grassley. [NYT / Nicholas Fando]
- Democrats, meanwhile, asked Rosenstein for a commitment that the probe would continue without being hindered, and expressed fears that Republicans could derail the investigation. [NPR / Philip Ewing]
- Rosenstein, who is Mueller's boss, said he sees no reason to fire the special prosecutor, and added that no one in the administration has told him to do so. [CNN / Laura Jarrett, Daniella Diaz, David Shortell, and David Wright]
- As Vox's Alex Ward writes, the timing of the anti-Mueller sentiment comes as the special counsel's investigation is heating up, with four arrests and two people who have pleaded guilty, including former NSA head Michael Flynn. [Vox / Alex Ward]
Liberté, egalité, complicité
- Rwanda's government is calling on France to admit it helped arm and give cover to Hutus who perpetrated the 1994 massacre of the country's Tutsi minority. The genocide claimed about 800,000 people lives. [Financial Times / David Pilling]
- The African country recently commissioned a report that it worked on with an American law firm, investigating France's role. It found that the French trained and supplied weapons to the Hutu government, even though they knew about the slaughter. [CNN / Kieron Monks]
- The Rwandan government is urging French authorities to declassify any information they have pertaining to the genocide. So far, the French have indicated they will be cooperative, but there's a long and fraught history between the two countries on this subject. [Al Jazeera]
- In addition to being reluctant to give up information in the past, there are a number of Hutu officials who had a role in the 1994 genocide currently living in France who haven't faced justice. Though France started a unit to prosecute those Rwandans, most are still living free. [NYT / Jina Moore]
Miscellaneous
In case you somehow have not heard the news, Democrat Doug Jones pulled out a historic win in the Alabama Senate race last night. This could spell trouble for the GOP in 2018. [FiveThirtyEight / Nate Silver]
- Acclaimed actress and producer Salma Hayek has added her name to the list of Harvey Weinstein's accusers, going public with a story about the sexual harassment and verbal abuse she suffered after rebuffing his constant advances. [NYT / Salma Hayek]
- Omarosa Manigault-Newman, a former Apprentice contestant turned Trump aide, has resigned from the White House, prompting everyone to wonder what exactly she was doing there in the first place. [BuzzFeed / David Mack, Talal Ansari, and Darren Sands]
- The NFL has seen a spate of high-profile players sidelined by injuries this year, and football injury rates have been steadily climbing over the past few years. [WSJ / Andrew Beaton]
Verbatim
“Shit, I got what I asked for. I’m a chair farmer.” [Ambitious horticulturist Gavin Munro to Atlas Obscura / Sarah Laskow]
Watch this: Why this elbow is a Time Person of the Year
The “Silence Breakers” are outliers. Most assault goes unreported. [YouTube / AJ Chavar and Carlos Waters]
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