Photo: Getty
She's an attorney.
By Amy Lamare — Written on Sep 25, 2018
Rod Rosenstein is the deputy Attorney General for the U.S. Department of Justice. He is overseeing the investigation led by Robert Mueller’s in the possible connection between Donald Trump, his campaign officials, and Russia during the 2016 U.S. Presidential election.
He's been in the news a ton this week. Did he get fired? Is he resigning? How screwed are we if he does step down? As things stand now, and this could change, Rosenstein is set to meet with the President on Thursday. But what we want to know is, who is he married to? Who is Rod Rosenstein's wife?
1. She is an attorney
Lisa Barsoomian is an Armenian-American attorney who was formerly an assistant U.S. attorney representing the U.S. in civil cases. She has been practicing law for nearly 25 years. As an assistant U.S. attorney she defended cases for Bill Clinton and Colin Powell as well as various Freedom of Information Act cases and the FBI's "Carnivore" surveillance system, which monitors and captures e-mail. She is currently an attorney at the National Institutes of Health. She graduated from Georgetown's law school.
2. Did she represent Hillary Clinton?
There's been a lot of propaganda swirling around online saying that Barsoomian personally represented Bill and Hillary Clinton. That's pure malarkey. As the assistant U.S. attorney she represented the interests of the United States. She's never personally represented either of the Clintons. It is important to know that Lisa did not represent individual parties in the cases she represented while working for the government. For example, Barsoomian was listed at the attorney of record in the 2002 case Judicial Watch, Inc. vs FBI. At the time. Robert S. Mueller was the FBI director. Barsooman didn't represent Mueller personally. The defendant in that case is the United States Department of Justice, not the FBI or Mueller.
3. Family
Barsoomian and Rosenstein have two teenage daughters together: Julia and Allison. The family likes to ride bikes and hang out in bookstores. They live in Bethesda, Maryland. An interview in The Washington Post revealed that Barsooman and Rosenstein are careful not to spoil their daughters. Once when Julie wanted to buy a Nook to read books, her parents were reluctant. They relented when Julie had saved up the money to buy it herself. This year, Barsoomian and her daughters accompanied Rosenstein to the U.S. Supreme court to watch him argue his first case there.
4. Is she a CIA operative?
Another conspiracy theory is that Lisa Baroomian is a "deep state" CIA operative. This theory points out that the internet has been "purged" of all information about Barsoomian. (Not true, or I'd have been unable to find any info to write this story). This theory thinks that Baroomian's position at the National Institutes of Health and that it her job is a convenient strategy by the CIA to conceal Baroomian's activities. (Also not true.) This theory states that because she is Rod Rosenstein's wife she cannot be impartial when trying lawsuits. That is straight up ridiculous.
Amy Lamare is a Los Angeles based freelance writer covering entertainment, pop culture, beauty, fashion, fitness, technology, and the intersection of technology, business, and philanthropy. She is deeply devoted to her chocolate Labrador and an avid long distance runner. You can find her on Instagram and Facebook.