Former federal prosecutor Gene Rossi on Friday told Hill.TV that he is “embarrassed” by recent stories that have come out of the Justice Department, saying he is glad that former acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker has been replaced by recently confirmed Attorney General William Barr.
“After 30 years, I’m almost at the point where I’m embarrassed by what is coming out of the Department of Justice,” Rossi told hosts Krystal Ball and Mattie Dupler on “Rising.”
“Thank God that Matt Whitaker is gone because Bill Barr is going to bring integrity, brilliance and some experience to that department,” he continued. “I’m praying that he’s going to right that ship, but for the last year and a half, with Sessions, with Whitaker, it’s been embarrassing.”
“I know a lot of the people there who still are working very hard for the department, and I’m laughing at them because they look like buffoons,” he said.
Rossi’s comments come after former Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe revealed that he opened a federal probe into whether President Trump obstructed justice after FBI Director James Comey was fired in May 2017.
However, Rossi praised the department’s handling of the federal investigation into alleged ties between the Trump campaign and Russian election meddling.
“Now Mueller’s investigation is totally different. He’s a class act, former marine, decorated in Vietnam. He’s one of my heroes. He’s a prosecutor’s prosecutor,” he said.
“But main Justice, where I used to roll, I’m embarrassed, but I hope Barr rights the ship,” he added.
Rossi, who has been critical in the past of Trump’s comments on the Russia probe, is a Democrat who was defeated in the party’s primary for Virginia’s lieutenant governor in 2017.
— Julia Manchester
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