WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following statement on the confirmation of Rod Rosenstein, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, to be Deputy Attorney General.
“Rod Rosenstein has committed his life to public service. He has served the people of Maryland well and I expect that he will serve the country well as Deputy Attorney General. I was pleased to support his nomination and I am pleased that we will have someone of his maturity and integrity at such a high level in the U.S. Department of Justice.
“As U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, Rod garnered broad, bipartisan support from state and local law enforcement officials across our great state, as he has tackled problems of crime, terrorism, drug trafficking, gun and gang violence, civil rights enforcement, environmental crimes, intellectual property fraud, and corruption. Rod has been a partner with the City of Baltimore, collaborating on numerous large-scale investigations. He has shown a dedication to the safety of Baltimore’s citizens, which I believe he will bring to DOJ as it continues its partnership with the Baltimore Police Department, implementing the recently approved Consent Decree to reform its police practices after the death of Freddie Gray in custody two years ago.
“On a national level, we have seen Rod as a prosecutor who has handled extremely sensitive cases and makes his decisions based on the law and evidence. I have full confidence that Rod will call it like he sees it without regard to partisan or political considerations, and that he will continue to uphold his oath to support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States. This is especially vital with a president and administration that has tested our Constitution, in terms of the separation of powers, checks and balances in our system, independence of the judiciary, and First Amendment freedom of the press, just to name a few issues in its first 100 days. I also believe that Rod would make the right decision should the President, White House official, or any other government official ask him to take an improper action, or not follow his best judgment as to the facts and law in a case.”
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