Acting DEA head officially resigns

As reported here by the New York Times, the "acting head of the Drug Enforcement Administration will resign at the end of the week, according to law enforcement officials, who said he had become convinced that President Trump had little respect for the law." Here is more about a not-too-surprising departure:

The official, Chuck Rosenberg, who twice served as chief of staff to the former F.B.I. director James B. Comey and remains a close confidant, had grown disillusioned with Mr. Trump.  The president fired Mr. Comey in May, and then in July told law enforcement officers “please don’t be too nice” when handling crime suspects.

Mr. Rosenberg forcefully rejected Mr. Trump’s comment, sending an email to all D.E.A. employees at the time to tell them that they should not mistreat suspects.  “We must earn and keep the public trust and continue to hold ourselves to the very highest standards,” Mr. Rosenberg wrote in the internal email.  “Ours is an honorable profession and, so, we will always act honorably.”...

Mr. Rosenberg, who was appointed by President Barack Obama in 2015, is a career prosecutor.  Under President George W. Bush, he served as the United States attorney in both southern Texas and eastern Virginia.

In late July, Mr. Rosenberg, told the deputy attorney general, Rod J. Rosenstein, that he did not want to be considered as the permanent administrator of the D.E.A.  Mr. Rosenstein, who wrote a memo that Mr. Trump briefly cited as his rationale for dismissing Mr. Comey, then asked whether Mr. Rosenberg wanted to remain at the Justice Department, and Mr. Rosenberg said he did not.

In a message to D.E.A. employees on Tuesday, Mr. Rosenberg said, “The neighborhoods in which we live are better for your commitment to the rule of law, dedication to the cause of justice and perseverance in the face of adversity.”

“You will continue to do great things,” he added. “I will continue to root for you, now from the sidelines.”