U.S. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein has submitted a letter of resignation to President Donald Trump.
Rosenstein’s departure ends a nearly two-year run defined by his appointment of a special counsel to investigate connections between the Trump campaign and Russia.
The departure had been expected since the confirmation of William Barr as attorney general in February.
In his letter, Rosenstein says he will leave the post May 11.
Rosenstein intended to leave in mid-March but stayed on a little longer for the completion of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation. Mueller submitted his report to the Justice Department last month. Rosenstein and Barr concluded that Trump did not obstruct justice.
Rosenstein, who appointed Mueller in 2017 following the recusal of then-attorney general Jeff Sessions, had overseen his team’s work for much of the last two years and defended his investigation.
He also defended the investigation against attacks from congressional Republicans and Trump, who often blasted it as a “witch hunt.” In so doing, Rosenstein sometimes found himself at odds with Trump but was nonetheless spared the brunt of anger directed at Sessions, whose recusal infuriated the president, leading to his forced resignation last November.
In his letter, Rosenstein says to Trump, “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.”
But he goes on to quote former attorneys general about the importance of the law being non-partisan, and he writes himself, “the Department bears a special responsibility to avoid partisanship.
“We enforce the law without fear or favor because credible evidence is not partisan and truth is not determined by opinion polls.”