The Mueller team did not bring the case against Donald Trump that was later sent to New York because it was not within the remit provided by Rod Rosenstein.
Posted by Deadline: White House, Checked
- Sources
- 4 support
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 80%
Deadline: White HouseSep 7, 2026
Sources support the core of the claim: the Cohen matter fell outside Mueller's mandate, and Rosenstein, as deputy attorney general, decided it should go to federal prosecutors in Manhattan rather than to Mueller's team. The claim faithfully paraphrases the passage, which says the feds did not bring it because it was not within the Mueller team's remit from Rosenstein.
A guest makes this claim. Listeners heard it, so it counts against the post, and on the guest's own record.
What was said
… I guess this is maybe one of the ways that he wasn't super reliable. Ah, so the answer to that is sort of, it's a little bit sort of yes and no. The reason that, um, the sort of the case that was sent off to New York, first to the feds in New York and then to the state, the feds did not bring it, was that wasn't with, if you remember, the Muller team. That wasn't within our remit from Rosenstein. We were given specific instructions that we had to look for sort of interference in the campaign by Russia or anyone in the Trump campaign. That was, and with other small bells and whistles, but not this piece. …
Deadline: White House · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. AP reporting from April 2018 says the Cohen raid was overseen by the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's office based on a Mueller referral, and that Mueller must consult Rosenstein when evidence may fall outside his mandate, with Rosenstein deciding whether to keep it or reassign it.[1]
Supports. Investigaterussia reports that Mueller brought the Cohen information to Rosenstein, who decided the inquiry should be handled by federal prosecutors in New York.[4]
Supports. Vox reports that Mueller was not the one who ordered the Cohen raid; it was carried out by the Manhattan prosecutor, separate from Mueller's Russia probe.[2]
Supports. The Mueller report, as quoted by NBC, says evidence outside the special counsel's jurisdiction was referred to other authorities after consultation with the Office of the Deputy Attorney General, and that Cohen was one of the referrals.[3]
Context. Sources do not explicitly state that Mueller's team lacked the authority to bring the Cohen case because of Rosenstein's remit alone, but they describe the referral as an out-of-mandate decision made with Rosenstein.[1][3][4]
Sources
4 sources: 1 fact-checker, 2 tier 2, 1 not rated
- 1Trump furious after FBI seizes documents from his lawyerapnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports, context
- 2Firing Mueller and Rosenstein won’t save Trump’s closest alliesvox.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports
- 3Mueller mystery: What are the other 12 criminal referrals?nbcnews.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports, context
- 4Raided By Referralinvestigaterussia.org · not rated · cited for: supports, context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
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