BALTIMORE _ Rod Rosenstein, in his first public appearance since ending a stormy tenure as U.S. deputy attorney general, quoted the man whose investigation he oversaw _ special counsel Robert S. Mueller III _ in urging University of Baltimore law school graduates on Monday to remain true to their principles.
"You will face pressure to compromise on things that matter most, perhaps even to trade virtue for the appearance of virtue," Rosenstein said in the commencement address at the packed Lyric theater. "But you should exercise caution when uncomfortable circumstances tempt you to disregard principles."
Rosenstein, wearing a dark graduation gown as he stood behind a lectern on the theater stage, then referenced a speech that Mueller _ then FBI director _ delivered at William & Mary University in 2013.
"There may come a time when you will be tested," Rosenstein quoted Mueller as saying. "You may find yourself standing alone, against those you thought were trusted colleagues. You may stand to lose all that you have worked for. And it may not be an easy call."
Rosenstein, a former Maryland U.S. attorney, did not reference his own pressure-packed circumstances overseeing Mueller's report on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
Rosenstein was viewed by Democrats as a guardian of the Mueller probe. Meanwhile, Republicans sought to undermine the investigation and question the motives of Rosenstein and Mueller. Both are Republicans.
The report said investigators did not establish that President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign conspired with the Russians but reached no conclusion on whether Trump obstructed justice.
In introducing Rosenstein to the graduates, law school dean Ronald Welch called him a straight shooter who "was often under fire" and "made the tough calls."
Rosenstein's resignation _ announced in an April 29 letter to Trump _ was effective Saturday.
In the letter, Rosenstein thanked the president 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."
The letter came 11 days after the public release of Mueller's report.
Rosenstein's tenure at the department often seemed precarious, never more so than after a New York Times report in September that he once discussed invoking the 25th Amendment _ which outlines a method to remove an unfit chief executive _ and the possibility of secretly recording the president.
Rosenstein said at the time that the report was not accurate. The Justice Department released a separate statement from an official who said he recalled the recording comment, but that it was meant sarcastically.
Rosenstein told the graduates that the median tenure of a deputy attorney general is just 16 months.
He served about two years, saying in his resignation letter that the department made "rapid" progress in "reducing violent crime, curtailing opioid abuse, protecting consumers, improving immigration enforcement ... "
"Before I went to Washington in 2017, my daughter asked whether I would get my picture in the newspaper," he said in Monday's speech. "I said no. I told her that deputy attorney general is a low-profile job. Nobody knows the deputy attorney general. I was mistaken about that."
He urged graduates not to fear compromise, but also to understand when to stand one's ground.
"Principles exist precisely for those challenging moments," he said. "When you grow old and reflect on times you stood firmly for what was right although it was painful and costly to you, the most difficult occasions may rank among the finest moments of your life."
Rosenstein was also scheduled Monday night to speak at the annual meeting of the Greater Baltimore Committee.
He was Maryland's U.S. attorney for 12 years when he left the office in Baltimore to serve as the No. 2 to U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
Sessions ordinarily would have overseen the Russia investigation but recused himself because of his close involvement in the Trump campaign. Trump ousted Sessions following the November elections.
As the second-ranking department official, Rosenstein could have been named acting attorney general. But Trump named Matthew Whitaker, who had been Sessions' chief of staff, before the Senate confirmed William Barr to the post in February.
.jpg?w=600)
