BALTIMORE _ Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein approved the continued surveillance of a Trump associate last year, according to a report Monday that once again thrust the former U.S. Attorney for Maryland into the spotlight.
Rosenstein, who became the No. 2 official at the Justice Department in April and now oversees the investigation into Russia's influence in the 2016 election, approved an application last year to extend surveillance of Trump ally Carter Page, The New York Times reported. The Times cited three sources who it said had read a controversial classified memo circulating on Capitol Hill.
The development may signal that Rosenstein could face renewed criticism from within his own party, including from the White House. The Trump administration has indicated it wants the memo to be made public, while officials at the Justice Department have urged caution. Democrats have been blasting the memo for weeks as a political effort to undermine the Russian probe.
Rosenstein, a Republican who served as U.S. Attorney in Maryland under presidents of both parties, has faced that sort of criticism before. Trump told The New York Times in an interview in July that he was unhappy with Rosenstein. Trump told The Times that "there are very few Republicans in Baltimore, if any."
Rosenstein was born in Philadelphia and lived in Bethesda while he was U.S. Attorney.
He also faced pressure from Democrats after crafting a memo the White House initially used to justify the firing of former FBI James Comey. Much of that criticism was quieted after he named Robert S. Mueller III as a special counsel in May to oversee the Russia probe.
