The 22-month long investigation into Russian interference during the 2016 election, which concluded on March 22, 2019, began back on May 17, 2017, when Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed special counsel Robert Mueller. This was a reaction to President Trump’s firing of then FBI director James Comey on May 9, which was done on the basis of a recommendation written by Rosenstein. After former Attorney General Jeff Sessions had recused himself from anything related to the Trump campaign’s alleged connections with Russia, the Deputy Attorney General took authority over all decision-making related to the investigation.
With the Mueller report’s public release on April 18, 2018, Rosenstein made his first public comments, delivered during a speech at the Armenian Bar Association’s public servants dinner in New York on April 25.
