Former Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) Chief Chuck Rosenberg resigned on October 1 but not before castigating President Donald Trump in an internal memo obtained under the Freedom of Information Act by Shadowproof.
The July 29 memo, available to the public for the first time, opens with a reference to Trump’s exhortation that police not be “too nice” when transporting suspects:
The President, in remarks delivered yesterday in New York, condoned police misconduct regarding the treatment of individuals placed under arrest by law enforcement.”
The memo was sent the day after Trump’s remark.
Rosenberg added,
I write because we have an obligation to speak when something is wrong.” The memo later includes a reminder of DEA’s “core values,” starting with the phrase “rule of law.” It closes with the admonition, “We must earn and keep the public trust.”
Rosenberg was appointed to run the DEA in May 2015. He indicated to the Justice Department in late July he did not want to be the permanent administrator of the DEA. Rosenberg believed Trump had little respect for the law, according to The New York Times.
Read the memo below
Top photo | Drug Enforcement Administration acting head Chuck Rosenberg is seated before a meeting of the Attorney General’s Organized Crime Council and Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Executive Committee to discuss implementation of the President’s Executive Order 13773, at the Department of Justice, Tuesday, April 18, 2017, in Washington. (AP/Alex Brandon)
Published in partnership with Shadowproof