Number Three Official at Justice Department Quits to Take Job With Walmart

In what could be a sign of an impending shakeup at the Justice Department, the number three official has announced her resignation for a corporate job at Walmart.

On Friday it was reported that Rachel Brand who was next in line behind slippery Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein – the man who unleashed dirty cop “Bob” Mueller on Trump – is leaving to accept her “dream job” at the global retail goliath’s corporate HQ where she will become the top legal official.

Ms. Brand has only been on the job since last May and some of the Never Trumpers are already panicking that her departure may be a signal that Mueller and his hit team may be on borrowed time.

Like William Kristol, a venomous pit viper who was the co-founder of the infamous neocon think tank The Project for the New American Century (PNAC) and now at the Russian conspiracy mill The Alliance for Securing Democracy.

It’s unusual for serious and capable people to leave a senior government position after 9 months. Rachel Brand is a serious and capable person. She surely found working in the Trump DOJ trying. But the question is whether she knew or expected something worse to be coming.

— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) February 10, 2018

The New York Times broke the news of Brand’s new gig in the story “No. 3 Official at the Justice Department Is Stepping Down”:

Rachel L. Brand, the No. 3 official at the Justice Department, plans to step down after nine months on the job as the country’s top law enforcement agency has been under attack by President Trump, according to two people briefed on her decision.

Ms. Brand’s profile had risen in part because she is next in the line of succession behind the deputy attorney general, Rod J. Rosenstein, who is overseeing the special counsel’s inquiry into Russian influence in the 2016 election. Mr. Trump, who has called the investigation a witch hunt, has considered firing Mr. Rosenstein.

Such a move could have put her in charge of the special counsel and, by extension, left her in the cross hairs of the president.

Ms. Brand, who became the associate attorney general in May, will become the global governance director at Walmart, the company’s top legal position, according to people briefed on her move. She has held politically appointed positions in the past three presidential administrations.

In her current job, she reports directly to Mr. Rosenstein and Jeff Sessions, the attorney general, who has recused himself from the Russia investigation.

It is entirely possible that Brand really is just moving onto to a better paying corporate gig but if you can read the tea leaves it is possible that she is getting the hell out of Dodge before the shit hits the fan.

The massive and likely incendiary DOJ Inspector General’s report is set to be out in March and could lead to a thorough housecleaning at both the Justice Department and the FBI.