It took unusually long to appoint Rod Rosenstein as the Deputy Attorney General under Jeff Sessions. This was in part because Senator Blumenthal (among others) specifically held up Rosenstein's confirmation with demands that Sessions appoint a special prosecutor on the Russia file. Why was Blumenthal so opposed to Rosenstein?

Originally, President-elect Trump submitted Rosenstein's name on January 13th. Confirmations of more senior posts (such as Jeff Sessions for Attorney General) took longer than usual, so Rosenstein did not come before the Senate Judiciary Committee until March 7th.

Blumenthal vowed on March 6th "to use every tool to block" Rosenstein. For those wanting all the details, The Intercept has a great article covering the first attempt by the Dems in the hearing on March 7th to pressure Rosenstein into promising a special prosecutor.

The Senate Judiciary Committee did not vote on Rosenstein until Monday, April 3rd. He was approved 19-1, with only Blumenthal voting against him. Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch was approved by the committee 11-9 in the same session. The Rosenstein appointment was passed to the full Senate, which voted 94-6 on April 25th. Blumenthal continued to insist on the need for a special prosecutor even after Rosenstein had been confirmed. Blumenthal later broadened his argument, saying on May 4th that a special prosecutor is also needed to look at Huma Abedin. Unusually for a Democrat, Blumenthal conceded that Abedin may need to face criminal charges for mishandling classified material, but insisted that only a special prosecutor can handle such politically charged files.

Today, in the aftermath of the firing of FBI Director James Comey, Blumenthal said yet again that a special prosecutor is needed, calling the FBI Russia investigation "catastrophically compromised" by Trump's action.

Why is the Senator so intent on not having Rod Rosenstein oversee the FBI? Here are some interesting facts that may be relevant.

In the Wikileaks dump of Podesta's emails there was a notorious pool party email from "Bonnie," with the three girls aged 11, 9, and almost 7. Among the addressees was Laurie Rubiner, Blumenthal's chief of staff since 2010. Rubiner dropped out of the party at the last minute.

Before she became chief of staff to Blumenthal in 2010, Rubiner was a senior exec at Planned Parenthood. And before that, she was legislative director to then-Senator Hillary Clinton.

Blumenthal also seems to be a current favorite of the Podestas. In 2016 they gave him $7,400, which puts him seventh after Hillary Clinton, Chuck Schumer, Kamala Harris, and three others. Since they give money to nearly half of Congress, this is significant.

Senator Blumenthal is co-chair of the Senate Caucus to End Human Trafficking. His chief of staff Rubiner went to India in 2013, with Cindy McCain, sponsored by the International Justice Mission, to investigate "sex trafficking of minor girls abroad".

Voaters have already had a look at Connecticut, which reportedly has high levels of child sex trafficking.

I think a closer look at the Senator, his chief of staff, and his state are all warranted.