Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein spoke out Thursday night on special counsel Robert Mueller’s report for the first time since its release.

At an official Justice Department dinner in New York hosted by the Armenian Bar Association, the embattled deputy attorney general reflected on his time in the Justice Department.

Rosenstein defended his handling of the special counsel’s investigation, ripped former FBI Director James Comey and accused the Obama administration of misleading the American people on Russia. (RELATED: Mike Huckabee Believes One Person Escaped Blame For Russia Fiasco)

“I did pledge to do it right and take it to the appropriate conclusion. I did not promise to report all results to the public because grand jury investigations are ex parte proceedings,” Rosenstein said of Mueller’s report, which found no evidence of collusion between the presidential campaign of Donald Trump and Russia.

“It is not our job to render conclusive factual findings,” he continued. “We just decide whether it is appropriate to file criminal charges.” (RELATED: Rand Paul Implicates Obama, Brennan In Dossier)

The deputy attorney general also took the time to slam the Obama administration for its handling of Russian meddling and the subsequent investigation: “The previous administration chose not to publicize the full story about Russian computer hackers and social media trolls, and how they relate to a broader strategy to undermine America.”

He then discussed Comey’s handling of the investigation, making clear that he was not happy with the former FBI director’s handling of the investigation, saying:

The FBI disclosed classified evidence about the investigation to ranking legislators and their staffers. Someone selectively leaked details to the news media. The FBI director [Comey] announced at a congressional hearing that there was a counterintelligence investigation that might result in criminal charges. Then the former FBI director alleged that the president pressured him to close the investigation, and the president denied that the conversation occurred.

Rosenstein has previously defended Attorney General Bill Barr and the Justice Department’s handling of the Mueller report, saying that Barr was being “as forthcoming as he can.”

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