--- title: The Internet Has Turned Its Attention to Rod Rosenstein description: U.S. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein is getting the meme treatment following the release of the Mueller report. canonical: https://time.com/5573281/rod-rosenstein-memes/ author: Raisa Bruner article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-04-18T16:12:29.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:58:41.519Z og:title: The Internet Has Turned Its Attention to Rod Rosenstein og:description: The U.S. Deputy Attorney General is getting the meme treatment og:url: https://time.com/5573281/rod-rosenstein-memes/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5dac181de624af99/6989489022fb855bfce28214/rod-rosenstein-barr.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: US-POLITICS-INVESTIGATION-MUELLER-JUSTICE-REPORT og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Internet Has Turned Its Attention to Rod Rosenstein twitter:description: The U.S. Deputy Attorney General is getting the meme treatment twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5dac181de624af99/6989489022fb855bfce28214/rod-rosenstein-barr.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Internet Immediately Turned Its Attention to Memes of Rod Rosenstein at the Bill Barr Press Conference > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME The Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition The Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors. The Brief brings TIME's perspective to the day's most important stories, helping readers understand not just what is happening, but why it matters. It combines original reporting and analysis with the best of TIME, spanning politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=cfe95903-bb8f-4eb6-80de-7c8d55e51f4e&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Daily | TIME, August 2026 | | Subscribers | 540,000 | TIME, August 2026 | | Open rate | 45.6% | TIME, August 2026 | | Click rate | 3.3% | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Richard Hall, Editor | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership The informed consumer. A scaled audience of readers who turn to TIME to stay informed and make sense of the world, with meaningful reach across education and research, nonprofits and civic life, media and communications, government and public institutions, and business and professional services. ### TIME The Brief: key statements * The Brief is edited by TIME journalists. Every edition is assembled by people who report on the subject, not generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923, and its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting. Readers can trust what they read. * The Brief is free. Readers select it, along with any of TIME's other newsletters, at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=cfe95903-bb8f-4eb6-80de-7c8d55e51f4e&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1). * TIME's newsletter network reaches more than 1.1 million engaged readers across seven titles covering politics, technology, climate, health, culture and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/subscribe?i=cfe95903-bb8f-4eb6-80de-7c8d55e51f4e&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What is TIME's daily news newsletter? The Brief is TIME's daily newsletter, edited by Richard Hall. It curates the day's top headlines with TIME's reporting and analysis across politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. It reaches 540,000 subscribers with a 45.6% open rate as of August 2026. It is free to join at time.com/newsletters. #### How do I sign up for The Brief? The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically.  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Apr 18, 2019 4:12 PM UTC  US Attorney General William Barr speaks about the release of the redacted version of the Mueller report as US Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein (R) listens at the Department of Justice April 18, 2019 in Washington, DC. US Attorney General William Barr speaks about the release of the redacted version of the Mueller report as US Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein (R) listens at the Department of Justice April 18, 2019 in Washington, DC. BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI—AFP/Getty Images  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Apr 18, 2019 4:12 PM UTC This week, the news has been all about the [Mueller Report](http://time.com/5567077/mueller-report-release/). but there’s always a standout silly moment. One man behind the scenes has become the object of the internet’s attention following a press conference on Thursday morning at the Department of Justice ahead of the report’s release. That’s U.S. Deputy Attorney General [Rod Rosenstein](http://time.com/5349251/rod-rosenstein-gop-articles-of-impeachment/). Rosenstein didn’t speak: he was there standing behind Attorney General [William Barr](http://time.com/5573115/william-barr-mueller-report-press-conference/), who answered questions from a podium. But Rosenstein still drew eyes thanks to what people felt was a notably stiff countenance, upstaging Barr with his posture. Barr told reporters that the Mueller Report, which can now be publicly viewed in a heavily redacted version, found [no evidence](http://time.com/5572821/donald-trump-russia-contacts/) of collusion between Trump’s campaign and the Russians during the 2016 election. For [this week’s TIME 100 list](http://time.com/collection/100-most-influential-people-2019/5567756/william-barr/), Rosenstein wrote about Barr and affirmed that under his leadership “the rule of law is secure.” But now, thanks to his behavior (or lack thereof) at the press conference, political Twitter can’t help but turn Rosenstein into a meme. > [](https://twitter.com/petridishes/status/1118879564246155264) > [](https://twitter.com/SopanDeb/status/1118872197299417088) > [](https://twitter.com/CapehartJ/status/1118871061045628928) > [](https://twitter.com/fivefifths/status/1118874398222692359) > [](https://twitter.com/jrpsaki/status/1118872068999778305) > [](https://twitter.com/pbump/status/1118876616791351297) He’s even getting compared to _Game of Thrones_ character [Bran Stark](http://time.com/5570835/game-of-thrones-season-8-episode-1/) — the all-seeing Three Eyed Raven, who often sits passively in a corner of any given scene. Only time will tell if the two truly have anything in common. > [](https://twitter.com/WorldofIsaac/status/1118875708988776449) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5573281/rod-rosenstein-memes/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5573281/rod-rosenstein-memes/"},"headline":"The Internet Immediately Turned Its Attention to Memes of Rod Rosenstein at the Bill Barr Press Conference","datePublished":"2019-04-18T16:12:29.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:58:41.519Z","description":"He's getting the meme treatment","url":"https://time.com/5573281/rod-rosenstein-memes/","keywords":["Newsfeed","politics","mueller report"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5dac181de624af99/6989489022fb855bfce28214/rod-rosenstein-barr.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Raisa Bruner","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5dac181de624af99/6989489022fb855bfce28214/rod-rosenstein-barr.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"US-POLITICS-INVESTIGATION-MUELLER-JUSTICE-REPORT","caption":"US-POLITICS-INVESTIGATION-MUELLER-JUSTICE-REPORT","creditText":"BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5573281/rod-rosenstein-memes/","name":"The Internet Immediately Turned Its Attention to Memes of Rod Rosenstein at the Bill Barr Press Conference"}}]}] ```