Getty Rod Rosenstein and his wife.
Lisa Barsoomian, Rod Rosenstein’s wife, worked for years as an attorney for the federal government, handling cases involving the FBI and even Bill Clinton.
Rosenstein, deputy Attorney General for the U.S. Department of Justice, appointed and is overseeing Robert Mueller’s investigation into Donald Trump campaign officials and Russia.
You can see a photo of Rosenstein, his wife, and daughters below and here. Barsoomian is also featured in a photo in this Armenian Law Association newsletter.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Barsoomian Acted as an Attorney for Bill Clinton & the FBI but Was a Federal Prosecutor at the Time
“Barsoomian has acted as an attorney for former United States President Bill Clinton,” according to Snopes. However, the site adds context to this claim, which has inspired conspiracy theories on the Web. The claim derives from a 1998 case called Hamburg vs. Clinton.
The case involved a suit against Clinton by “a Wyoming military veteran named Al Hamburg,” whom Snopes described as “an eccentric ‘perennial candidate’ and letter-writer who once attempted to register his dog as a presidential candidate.” He’d sued Clinton as president alleging discrimination and “claimed that the president was part of a conspiracy to bring about an ‘alien invasion’ by Mexican-American military members,” Snopes reported.
Barsoomian’s role? Along with other officials, she signed a response to the claims because she was an Assistant U.S. Attorney at the time, according to Snopes. The case was ultimately dismissed. You can see the response here.
Here are just some of the four pages of cases that come up with Lisa Barsoomian listed as an attorney in Pacer, the federal court records website. Some of the cases involved federal agencies like the FBI and CIA.
Barsoomian represented the FBI when the agency was sued in a 2002 case involving Judicial Watch that involved “technology that would allegedly allow the Federal Bureau of Investigation …to ‘wiretap’ the Internet.” The court dismissed the case.
In 2000, she represented the FBI in a case that involved “a Freedom of Information Act request submitted by the Electronic Privacy Information Center,” according to Wired. An ABC News story stated: “Government lawyer Lisa Barsoomian contended the group’s request for a court order was moot because the FBI had agreed to expedite its review.”
She was also involved in a Freedom of Information case involving a prisoner.
2. Rosenstein & Barsoomian Have Two Daughters Together
Rosenstein and his wife are the parents of two daughters named Julia and Allison. In a 2017 article in the New York Times, Rosenstein joked about his government pay and said that one of his daughters “would have to wait for the big yard she had been wanting,” The Times reported.
The Times reported that Rosenstein grew up in suburbs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where his father, Robert, “ran a small business,” and his mother, Gerri, was a bookkeeper.
Lisa Barsoomian was editor of a newsletter for the Armenian Bar Association.
3. Barsoomian Worked for the National Institutes of Health
Deputy U.S. Attorney General nominee Rod Rosenstein arrives before the Senate Judiciary Committee for testimony March 7, 2017 in Washington, DC.
A profile of Rod Rosenstein in The Washington Post reported that Lisa Barsoomian “is a lawyer at the National Institutes of Health.” That was in 2011. The same article notes of Rosenstein, “He is one of only three U.S. attorneys — out of 93 nationwide — appointed by then-President George W. Bush who has been kept on by the Obama administration.”
At the time of the article, the couple’s daughters were ages 9 and 11. Photos of Barsoomian, then 43, decorated Rosenstein’s office, The Post reported.
“The couple have two daughters, 17 and 15, and live in the Washington, DC, suburb of Bethesda, Maryland,” The Times of Israel reported in 2017.
Barsoomian is a member of the Phi Delta Phi International Legal Honor Society.
4. The Rosenstein Family Hangs Out at Book Stores & Rides Bike Together
Getty Rod Rosenstein (2nd L), nominee for deputy attorney general, greets Sen. Joni Ernst (2nd R) (R-IA) prior to testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee for testimony March 7, 2017 in Washington, DC.
According to the 2011 Washington Post article, “Rosenstein usually walks his girls to their public school bus in the morning.” The story also noted that he and his children were fond of biking and “The Barnes & Noble in downtown Bethesda is a favorite family destination.”
An American Center for Law and Justice memo from 2008 says of Rosenstein, “Rosenstein, 40, is married to Lisa Barsoomian and has two daughters, Allison Liza, age 4, and Julia Paige, age 7. The family resides in Bethesda, Maryland. Friends and colleagues say that, despite his substantial professional accomplishments, Rosenstein is properly characterized as modest and self-effacing, and is even known for riding his bike to work. He is also known for being a dedicated father.”
5. Barsoomian & Rosenstein Have Tried to Not Spoil Their Children
Rod Rosenstein.
According to The Washington Post, Barsoomian and Rosenstein once were “reluctant” to let their daughter Julie buy a Nook to read books because “he and his wife are careful not to spoil their kids.” They eventually relented after Julie argued she had saved enough money to buy it herself, according to The Post.
In 2018, Rosenstein’s wife and daughters accompanied him to the U.S. Supreme Court, when he argued his first case there about a convicted drug dealer, ABC News reported.
Lisa Barsoomian has been licensed to practice law for 24 years.