Investigation protection

The announcement Tuesday that [ alleged Russian agent Maria] Butina had been indicted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia brings to three the number of different Department of Justice components working on cases relating to Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

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Certainly, all of these cases could conceivably come under Mueller’s umbrella as special counsel. His mandate in the appointment order from Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein was quite broad [...] It could be that these other matters involving Cohen and Butina are outside the scope of the memo. Or it could be that Mueller and Rosenstein are following the sage investment advice to diversify one’s portfolio.

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By assigning these cases to various different DOJ offices, Rosenstein and Mueller may be protecting them from being destroyed.

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By assigning aspects of the investigation to other DOJ components, where career prosecutors are working on them, Rosenstein ensures that these cases will continue even if Mueller is fired or the special counsel’s appointment is found to be legally invalid.

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While some prosecutors may be tempted to protect their turf and hold close all aspects of an investigation, Mueller and Rosenstein have been quick to farm cases out to other prosecution offices. In doing so, they may have found the way to have the best of both worlds. While other DOJ personnel work on these other cases, Mueller’s team can focus its efforts solely on cases directly related to Russian election interference and Trump campaign members. But, because the cases are all being handled by one Department of Justice, any information that emerges from these investigations can be shared with Mueller. All three of these investigations are supervised by Rosenstein, whose staff likely gets regular briefings and updates on each case.

  Daily Beast

Mueller, deservedly, gets kudos for his steady work, but Rosenstein, being out front, and sometimes inscrutable or seemingly contradictory, may not be getting the props he deserves.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.