Rod Rosenstein, the deputy U.S. attorney general, was 2,600 miles from Washington on Friday, speaking in San Diego at the 32nd Annual National Institute on White Collar Crime.

His prepared remarks suggest he was delighted to escape the bluster of the Beltway. (Wind gusts of 50 mph were smacking this city on Friday.)

“First of all, this is just about the farthest you can get from Washington, DC, without leaving the continental United States. It is good for the soul to spend time beyond the Beltway,” Rosenstein said, according to his prepared remarks.

Rosenstein, of course, has been front and center in all the buzz over the Russia investigation. His boss—U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions—isn't exactly getting along all well with President Donald Trump. At least Sessions, Rosenstein and Noel Francisco, the U.S. solicitor general, could step out for a meal the other night.

Rosenstein was the keynote speaker Friday—the fourth and final day of the white-collar conference. He spoke about the mission to seek truth—”for lawyers, truth is about credible evidence, not strong opinions.” And he talked about the use of data analytics in health care fraud prosecutions, and about prosecutorial discretion.

“What is right is a matter of personal opinion. What is legal is an objective issue of fact and law,” Rosenstein said. “Even then, we do not prosecute every violation of the law. Discretion is inherent in law enforcement.”

Rosenstein turned to Richard Posner, the retired U.S. federal appeals judge, to make his point. Rosenstein quoted from Posner's 1993 decision in United States v. Van Engel: ”The Department of Justice wields enormous power over people's lives, much of it beyond judicial or political review. With power comes responsibility, moral if not legal, for its prudent and restrained exercise; and responsibility implies knowledge, experience and sound judgment, not just good faith.”

And then there are these lines, somewhere in the middle of his 2,600-word speech. Rosenstein said:

“You will not always agree with our policy decisions, and you definitely won't hear this on cable TV, but the department leadership team appointed by President Trump is very strong on ethics and professionalism. History will reflect that the Department of Justice operated with integrity on our watch.”

Those remarks from Rosenstein came right after he praised Sessions, a leader, he said, who shares a commitment to avoiding the mistakes of past leadership at Main Justice.

“Priorities change, but federal law enforcement principles are timeless,” Rosenstein continued. “We will defend the principles, and we will pass them on to future generations.”

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