Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein arrives to testify before a House Committee on the Judiciary oversight hearing on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2017 in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

As I’ve chronicled, Rod Rosenstein has fought a series of battles against the House Intelligence Committee Chairman, Devin Nunes, who is backed by House Speaker Paul Ryan–and by Donald Trump–and achieved Pyrrhic defeats. That is not only has he lost, but he’s come away from the loss without a figleaf of cover or a shred of self-respect. A couple of weeks ago, he fended off a threat to hold him in contempt by relenting on a demand by Nunes and Trey Gowdy.

Now, with the two leak-ridden pieces on the informant assigned to try to get members of the Trump campaign to incriminate themselves getting attention, President Trump has weighed in.

If the FBI or DOJ was infiltrating a campaign for the benefit of another campaign, that is a really big deal. Only the release or review of documents that the House Intelligence Committee (also, Senate Judiciary) is asking for can give the conclusive answers. Drain the Swamp!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 19, 2018

This seems clearly aimed to support Chuck Grassley’s letter demanding access to the complete scope of the Mueller investigation. But in is also aimed at the documents Nunes and Goodlatte have demanded.

I expect Rosenstein will resist both the House and Senate demands but, at some point, he is going to stop being “principled” and start being merely an intransigent jerk who is going to be fired for cause.