Rod Rosenstein is an American attorney and former criminal prosecutor who investigated tax fraud and public corruption before being tapped by Republican President George W. Bush to serve in the Department of Justice as a U.S. attorney in Maryland. Rosenstein enjoyed support and respect from Republicans and Democrats alike and served as the second in command at the Department of Justice under Bush's two successors in the White House, Barack Obama and Donald J. Trump. Rosenstein's political legacy, though, will very likely center on his controversial move to appoint Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III to investigate Russia's attempts to influence the 2016 presidential election.