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Acting Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Administrator Chuck Rosenberg speaks about fentanyl at the headquarters of the Drug Enforcement Agency June 6, 2017 in Arlington, Virginia. (Photo: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI, AFP/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON – Acting Drug Enforcement Administration chief Chuck Rosenberg, appointed two years ago to bring stability to an agency riven by controversy, announced late Tuesday that he was stepping down, effective Oct. 1.

Rosenberg, a long-time Justice Department official who also served as a two-time U.S. attorney and a chief of staff to former FBI Director James Comey, was appointed slightly more than two years following a series of scandals that forced the ouster of embattled administrator Michele Leonhart.

"Almost two and half years ago, I wrote to express how grateful I was to join the DEA...to see up close your amazing work," Rosenberg wrote in a message to staffers. "I was proud to support your unique and vital mission and to tout your accomplishments everywhere I went. Now, during my last week, I write to thank you for your courage, integrity and devotion."

A holdover from the Obama administration, Rosenberg's departure was not unexpected. Rosenberg worked closely with Comey, the FBI director Trump abruptly fired in May. Rosenberg also once served as a counselor to former FBI Director Robert Mueller, who is now the special counsel directing the investigation into Russia's intervention in the 2016 election.

As the Trump administration ramps up its response to the opioid crisis and formulates a harder line policy on marijuana, it has been considering a slate of other potential nominees to fill the top DEA slot, including New Jersey State Police Superintendent Rick Fuentes.

Fuentes has discussed the job with top Justice officials, according to two people familiar with the matter who were not authorized to speak publicly.

A career New Jersey law enforcement official, Fuentes was appointed to lead the state police in 2003 and is the state's longest serving superintendent.

His candidacy also is supported by the Fraternal Order of Police, the nation's largest police union.

"Col. Fuentes is the consummate cop's cop," FOP President Chuck Canterbury wrote in a July 7 letter to President Trump, urging the superintendent's consideration. "He has earned the respect of his officers and local law enforcement officers throughout the state, as well as his federal counterparts."

Fuentes declined to comment.

Before Rosenberg's appointment by then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch, the DEA had been reeling from a series of scandals under Leonhart, who retired in wake of an internal Justice investigation found that agents participated in sex parties with prostitutes supplied by drug cartels in Colombia.

Read or Share this story: https://usat.ly/2yr2ZY5</s>Chuck Rosenberg, acting head of the Drug Enforcement Administration, will resign on Oct. 1, multiple media outlets are reporting.

Rosenberg, a holdover from President Barack Obama’s administration, announced on Tuesday he would be stepping down in an email sent to the DEA staff, according to The Washington Post.</s>The acting head of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will step down at the end of this month, Fox News confirmed Tuesday.

Chuck Rosenberg will leave his position effective Oct. 1, a DEA source told Fox. A reason for his departure was not given.

Rosenberg's resignation was first reported by The New York Times, which claimed that he was "disillusioned" with President Donald Trump.

According to the paper, Rosenberg is a close confidant of former FBI Director James Comey, whose dismissal by Trump in May is the focal point of an ongoing investigation into alleged collaboration between Trump's campaign and Russian officials.

The Times also reported that Rosenberg sent an email to all DEA employees decrying comments Trump made in July about police treatment of suspects.

"When you see these thugs being thrown into the back of a paddy wagon — you just see them thrown in, rough," Trump told an audience of law enforcement officers in Suffolk County, N.Y., "I said, 'Please don't be too nice.'"

"We must earn and keep the public trust and continue to hold ourselves to the very highest standards," Rosenberg wrote at the time. "Ours is an honorable profession and, so, we will always act honorably."</s>Washington, Sep 26 (EFE).- The acting head of the US Drug Enforcement Administration, Chuck Rosenberg, resigned on Tuesday from the post he has occupied since May 2015, during which time he has headed a strong campaign to fight the growing abuse of painkillers and heroin.



The resignation will become effective on Oct. 1, a DEA spokesperson told EFE.



The spokesperson refused to specify why Rosenberg decided to leave the DEA, although The Washington Post pointed to disagreements he has had in recent months with the Donald Trump administration and especially with Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who is in charge of supervising the DEA.



According to the capital daily, Sessions and Rosenberg have different visions about how to fight Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), a gang that operates in the US and has transformed El Salvador into one of the world’s most violent countries, and a group which Sessions declared war promising to decapitate it with a dynamic police offensive.



Sessions wants the fight against MS-13 to be a priority, while – for years – the DEA has devoted resources to fighting Mexico’s Sinaloa, Juarez and other drug cartels, who have been designated as a growing threat in the agency’s recent reports.



In resigning, Rosenberg on Tuesday sent an e-mail to the approximately 5,000 agents the DEA has stationed in 69 countries, including Colombia, Ecuador, Argentina, Spain and Germany.



“Almost two and half years ago, I wrote to express how grateful I was to join the DEA … to see up close your amazing work,” Rosenberg wrote.



“I was proud to support your unique and vital mission and to tout your accomplishments everywhere I went. Now, during my last week, I write to thank you for your courage, integrity and devotion,” he said.



Rosenberg found himself on the front page of many newspapers in late July when, in response to remarks by Trump, he sent a memo to DEA employees and asked them to always act with “honor” and in accord with the “highest standards” when they handled people suspected of committing crimes.



His response came after Trump told a group of agents in New York that they should not be “too nice” when they arrest “thugs,” thus seeming to condone police brutality.



In a memo sent to DEA personnel at the time, Rosenberg said that although he did not believe that any DEA officer would mistreat a defendant,” he felt compelled to respond to Trump’s remarks, saying the president had “condoned police misconduct.”



“I write to offer a strong reaffirmation of the operating principles to which we, as law enforcement professionals, adhere,” he said in the memo.



At present, it is not clear who will be tapped to replace Rosenberg, although sources privy to internal DEA discussions quoted by The Washington Post are pointing to Col. Joseph R. Fuentes, the head of the New Jersey state police.



Rosenberg replaced Michele Leonhart, who had headed the agency from 2007-2015, after she had to resign when it became public that several DEA agents had participated in “sex parties” with prostitutes in Colombia.</s>The acting chief of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is stepping down while the agency awaits the Trump administration's nomination of its permanent leader.

A person familiar with the move said Chuck Rosenberg would leave the post October 1. The person, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters, said Rosenberg notified employees of his decision in a short email Tuesday in which he thanked them for their hard work.

Rosenberg, a longtime ally of fired FBI Director James Comey, had been running the agency in a temporary capacity since 2015. He made news last month when he rejected President Donald Trump's comments suggesting police shouldn't be "nice'' to suspects by shielding their heads as they are lowered, handcuffed, into police cars. He told employees the comment "condoned police misconduct'' and reminded them of the drug agency's operating principles, which include the rule of law, respect, compassion and integrity.

The Trump administration has not nominated a replacement. But the person who spoke to AP said Colonel Joseph Fuentes of the New Jersey State Police was a front-runner for the position.

Fuentes had been a vocal critic of some Obama administration policies, including a deal reached in January between the U.S. and Cuba because it did not require the return of a woman convicted of killing a state trooper. A longtime law enforcement officer, Fuentes pledged to work with Trump to secure her return.</s>WASHINGTON — 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.

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 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 then asked whether Mr. Rosenberg wanted any other job in the Justice Department, and Mr. Rosenberg said he did not.</s>Chuck Rosenberg, the acting head of the Drug Enforcement Agency who has found himself and his agency at odds with the Trump administration in recent months, told staff members Tuesday that he is planning to step down from his post.

Rosenberg, a holdover from the administration of President Obama, wrote that he would leave his position as the DEA’s acting administration on Oct. 1. In an email to his staff, Rosenberg said he was proud to have led the “remarkable agency.”

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

It was not immediately clear who would replace Rosenberg, though people with knowledge of internal discussions at the DEA said Col. Joseph R. Fuentes, the head of the New Jersey State Police, was thought to be a leading contender to earn President Trump’s nomination. Rosenberg has been running the agency in an acting capacity since 2015. A close ally of fired FBI Director James B. Comey, Rosenberg garnered attention in July when he wrote an email to DEA personnel rejecting Trump’s comments suggesting criminal suspects might be treated roughly when being put into police vehicles.

“We have an obligation to speak out when something is wrong,” Rosenberg wrote in the email.

Rosenberg has also been at loggerheads with Justice Department leaders over marijuana research. The department, according to officials, has effectively blocked the DEA from taking action on more than two dozen requests to grow marijuana to use in research.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions has taken a hard line against marijuana and is generally opposed to easing restrictions on the drug. Rosenberg and Sessions also have different views on the Central American gang MS-13. Sessions has called combating the gang a major priority for federal law enforcement, while DEA officials say Mexican drug cartels are far more dangerous given their financing and organization.

Fuentes is a career law enforcement officer who has led the New Jersey State Police since 2003. He harshly criticized the Obama administration for striking a deal with Cuba to restore diplomatic relations with that country without addressing the question of long-sought fugitives, including one who killed a New Jersey state trooper in 1973.

“We approach the next presidential administration with a renewed sense of optimism and moral superiority that justice will prevail,” Fuentes said in a statement last January.</s>The acting chief of the US Drug Enforcement Administration, who has been critical of US President Donald Trump, is stepping down at the end of the week, a spokeswoman said Wednesday.

Chuck Rosenberg, who was known to be close to fired former FBI director James Comey, has resigned "effective October 1," spokeswoman Katherine Pfaff told AFP.

Rosenberg is a holdover from former president Barack Obama's administration, and Trump had been expected to name his own person to head the agency.

But Rosenberg, a former prosecutor who has led the DEA on an interim basis since 2015, had also been at odds with the president.

After Trump publicly suggested in July that the police not treat suspects with kid gloves, Rosenberg sent an internal email to DEA colleagues criticizing the president as having "condoned police misconduct."

"We have an obligation to speak out when something is wrong," Rosenberg said.</s>WASHINGTON – Acting Drug Enforcement Administration head Chuck Rosenberg, a veteran attorney and law enforcement official who has found himself at odds with the Trump administration in recent months, told staff members Tuesday he is planning to step down from his post in less than a week.

Rosenberg, an Obama administration holdover, said he would resign as acting administrator on Oct. 1. In an email to his staff, Rosenberg said he was proud to have led the “remarkable agency.”

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

His departure is not completely surprising; President Donald Trump was always expected to nominate someone of his own choosing to lead the nation’s premier agency on narcotics enforcement.

Rosenberg, who had been running the agency in an acting capacity since 2015, had earned a reputation as someone willing to put himself at odds with his bosses in the White House and the Justice Department.

A former U.S. attorney and senior counselor to then-FBI Director James Comey, Rosenberg garnered attention in July when he wrote an email to DEA personnel rejecting Trump’s comments suggesting criminal suspects might be treated roughly when being put into police vehicles. “We have an obligation to speak out when something is wrong,” he wrote in the email.

It was not immediately clear who would replace Rosenberg, although people with knowledge of internal discussions said Col. Joseph Fuentes, the head of the New Jersey State Police, was thought to be a leading contender. A state police spokesman declined to comment. Other names have also been discussed, said people familiar with the deliberations.

According to two officials familiar with the matter, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein had previously asked Rosenberg if he would be interested in serving as the presidentially appointed head of the DEA, and Rosenberg declined. Because Rosenberg was considered a career Justice Department employee, one of the officials said, Rosenstein then asked if he would be interested in another Justice Department job, and Rosenberg said he would not.

A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment, and a White House spokeswoman did not return a message seeking comment. Some at the DEA expressed surprise at how suddenly Rosenberg would be leaving his post.

Whoever Trump nominates will inherit primary responsibility for handling the DEA’s response to the opioid crisis, along with thorny issues involving marijuana enforcement and research.

Rosenberg also has been at loggerheads with Justice Department leaders over marijuana research. The department, according to officials, has effectively blocked the DEA from taking action on more than two dozen requests to grow marijuana to use in research – to the dismay of Rosenberg and others.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions has taken a hard line against marijuana and is generally opposed to easing restrictions on the drug. Rosenberg and Sessions also have different views on the Central American gang MS-13. Sessions has called combating the gang a priority for federal law enforcement, while DEA officials have cautioned that other gangs – such as Mexican drug cartels – are far more dangerous when it comes to distributing and selling narcotics because of their financing and organization.

Fuentes is a career law enforcement officer who has led the New Jersey State Police since 2003. He harshly criticized the Obama administration for striking a deal with Cuba to restore diplomatic relations with that country without addressing the question of long-sought fugitives, including one who killed a New Jersey state trooper in 1973.

“We approach the next presidential administration with a renewed sense of optimism and moral superiority that justice will prevail,” Fuentes said in a statement in January.</s>The acting head of the Drug Enforcement Administration is planning to leave his post later this month after losing confidence in President Donald Trump’s respect for the law, a source familiar with the decision said Tuesday.

Chuck Rosenberg, a longtime federal prosecutor who was named to oversee the DEA in May 2015, previously served as chief of staff to James Comey, the FBI director fired by Trump in May.

Rosenberg’s concerns about Trump , after the DEA chief sent an unusual agency-wide memo that essentially rebuked the president. The email followed a suggestion by Trump at a law enforcement-focused speech on Long Island that police were being “too nice” to suspects and might not want to shield their heads from hitting the roof of the police car during arrests.

“The President, in remarks delivered yesterday in New York, condoned police misconduct regarding the treatment of individuals placed under arrest by law enforcement,” said Rosenberg’s email at the time. “In writing to you, I seek to advance no political, partisan, or personal agenda. Nor do I believe that a Special Agent or Task Force Officer of the DEA would mistreat a defendant. I know that you would not.”

Rosenberg was considering resigning at that time, a source briefed on his deliberations said.

An administration official who spoke on the condition of anonymity confirmed that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein spoke with Rosenberg earlier this summer and asked whether he wanted to be considered for nomination to the permanent position as DEA administrator or for another Justice Department job. Rosenberg declined both invitations, the official said. As a career Justice employee, Rosenberg would be entitled to take another senior slot in the department.

A DEA spokesman did not respond to a request for comment on Rosenberg’s departure plans, which were first reported by The Washington Post.

Spokespeople at the Justice Department and White House declined to offer reaction or to comment on plans to replace Rosenberg.
Acting U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration chief Chuck Rosenberg announces his resignation, effective Oct. 1, after more than two years in the position.