You nailed most of the key points, except RR made it clear he was not the affiant on the last renewal. He signed off to keep the sting going. He was trusted by the Swamp and Trump used that in The Plan. RR was most certainly Trump’s Trojan Horse and probably Trump’s most important piece on the chess board.
You are correct
@Jayhox, RR wasn't an affiant - he did not have anything to do with any investigative work, he just reviewed the finished product.
Looking back at RR's fiery testimony exchange with Matt Gaetz, RR said only three people from the DOJ are authorized to sign a FISA warrant - the Attorney General, Deputy Attorney General and the Assistant Attorney General for National Security. At the time of the 3rd and last renewal in June 2017, Sessions was recused (planned?) and the Assistant Attorney General position was vacant - leaving only RR to authorize. At the time, the deep state had to think they were getting exactly what they wanted - Sessions recused and "their guy" RR (remember the senate vote) - stepping up to take over for previous DOJ swamp rats - John Carlin (initial warrant), Sally Yates (1rst renewal) and Dana Boente (2nd renewal).
I also remember RR telling Gaetz that the information he was briefed on did not match his understanding of the last renewal he signed. RR also made it clear he didn't fear any investigation from the OIG (Horowitz) because RR was confident all procedures were followed - and that's what Horowitz would be investigating - procedures.
I know RR appointed Mueller and even broadened the scope of the investigation but in the end, the deep state didn't get the obstruction of justice charge against Trump that they wanted. Mueller was a stumbling, mumbling mess in his congressional testimony, making it clear to me that he didn't really seem to know the inner workings of the actual Trump-Russia investigation but was merely the face of the investigation. That POS Weismann and the other partisan clowns who were involved in the investigation only exposed themselves for who and what they truly are. None of this helped the deep state in any way, everything seemed to backfire on them - they were only hurt and exposed along the way.
There's still a lot of sh*t Mueller did that's hard for me to reconcile with. I'm watching this play out like everyone else. I'm not 100% positive on the dynamics of the Rosenstein/Mueller relationship but if we've learned anything over the last 4 years it's that things often don't end up appearing as they once seemed. And as time goes on and more is exposed, it's the deep state taking the hits and Trump being vindicated.
Maybe the good guys did have a plan.