Laws don't apply to your political and moral superiors. They can just do whatever.

To be honest, I don't think there was ever a rescue operation. I think they were going to claim the transaction itself was illegal, and then use that as a weapon to justify arresting Matt's father, as a way of getting at Matt if he ever stepped out of line.

The guy allegedly running the FBI rescue operation was Andrew McCabe (from the Russia-gate hoax), so it's possible they were going to frame Don & Matt as "working with a Russian citizen to bribe a DOJ official" or some dumb shit.

Think of it like chess. The point is to maneuver your enemy so that every move they make ends with them taking a loss, no matter what it is. The best outcome is when they take a loss, doing the thing that you want them to do, because it's the least worst option.