THE NAKED BOOTLEG:

One would be tempted to say that the president's reliance on "alternative facts" to smear his predecessor is the real scandal here were it not for the fact that an actual, honest-to-goodness scandal -- one that may conceivably rival Watergate -- is at the bottom of this ruckus. Why, after all, did Trump have a midweek meltdown that dashed pundits' hopes that he would act in more sober fashion? The answer is as obvious as it is significant: On the evening of March 1, the day after his lauded speech, major new revelations emerged about the mysterious links between the Trump camp and the Kremlin.

The New York Times was first out of the gate that evening with a story reporting: "American allies, including the British and the Dutch, had provided information describing meetings in European cities between Russian officials -- and others close to Russia's president, Vladimir V. Putin -- and associates of President-elect Trump, according to three former American officials who requested anonymity in discussing classified intelligence. Separately, American intelligence agencies had intercepted communications of Russian officials, some of them within the Kremlin, discussing contacts with Trump associates."

The Times story would have been big news were it not almost immediately overshadowed by a Washington Post article with an even more alarming finding: "Then-Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) spoke twice last year with Russia's ambassador to the United States, Justice Department officials said, encounters he did not disclose when asked about possible contacts between members of President Trump's campaign and representatives of Moscow during Sessions's confirmation hearing to become attorney general."

Smaller but still significant revelations followed the next day. The Wall Street Journal reported that Donald Trump Jr. "was likely paid at least $50,000 for an appearance late last year before a French think tank whose founder and his wife are allies of the Russian government in efforts to end the war in Syria." (What could Trump Jr. say that would possibly be worth $50,000?) J.D. Gordon, Trump's national security advisor during the campaign, admitted that, contrary to his earlier denials, he had directly intervened at Trump's instigation to remove the language in the 2016 Republican platform which had called on the United States to arm Ukraine against Russian aggression. And campaign advisor Carter Page admitted that, contrary to his earlier denials, he had met with the Russian ambassador at the Republican National Convention. It is hard to imagine why so many people would lie if they didn't have something pretty significant to cover up.

Out of all of these revelations it was the news about Sessions -- which may open him to perjury charges -- that was the most significant. In response to the Post report, the attorney general was forced to recuse himself from the Kremlingate inquiry, much to the fury of President Trump, who was not consulted about this decision. This is what led to Trump's wild-eyed rants on Twitter, designed to distract from the real scandal and to convince his more credulous followers that he is the victim of a plot by his predecessor.

But why would Sessions' recusal make Trump so unhinged? The president must have felt relatively confident that the "Kremlingate" probe would go nowhere as long as it was in the hands of Trump partisans such as Sessions, Rep. Devin Nunes of the House Intelligence Committee, and Sen. Richard Burr of the Senate Intelligence Committee. But with Sessions out of the picture, the way is now clear for the deputy attorney general -- either the current placeholder, career Justice Department attorney Dana Boente, or Trump's nominee to replace him, Rod Rosenstein, another career government lawyer -- to appoint a special counsel because of the "extraordinary circumstances" surrounding this case.

Rod Rosenstein, nominated by President Donald Trump to be deputy attorney general, would handle the Russian investigation if he is confirmed by the Senate because Attorney General Jeff Sessions has recused himself from the matter. [...]

Sessions said the deputy attorney general would be responsible for the Russia-related investigations.

U.S. intelligence agencies concluded last year that Russia hacked and leaked Democratic emails during the election campaign as part of an effort to tilt the vote in Trump's favor. The Kremlin has denied the allegations. [...]

The 26-year Justice Department veteran is seen by many current and former department officials as a politically neutral pick. Named as Maryland's top prosecutor by President George W. Bush, Rosenstein stayed in office through the Obama administration.

"Doing an investigation into ties to Russia or the president, Rod is just going to find the facts and apply the law whether it's an indictment or closing the case," said Bonnie Greenberg, a federal prosecutor in Maryland, who worked with Rosenstein for 11 years. "That's the essence of Rod."

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