Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said he has seen no reason to fire the special prosecutor investigating the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia.
Testifying before the Senate Appropriations Committee Tuesday morning, Rosenstein was asked to respond to a claim from President Trump’s friend Christopher Ruddy that Trump was considering firing Robert Mueller. Rosenstein appointed Mueller to oversee the Russia investigation on May 18.
“I’m not going to follow any orders unless I believe those are lawful and appropriate orders,” Rosenstein responded. “If there were good cause, I would consider it; if there weren’t good cause, it wouldn’t matter to me what anybody said.”
The Code of Federal Regulations stipulates that the attorney general alone has the authority to appoint or to remove a special counsel. Rosenstein has served as acting attorney general for the Russia investigation since Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from that investigation in March.
Asked whether he had seen any reason for Mueller to be removed, Rosenstein responded, “No, I have not.”
“You have my assurance that we are going to faithfully follow that regulation,” he said, “and director Mueller is going to have the full degree of independence that he has to conduct that investigation appropriately.”
The White House distanced itself on Monday afternoon from the speculation sparked by Ruddy, who told PBS’s Newshour that Trump was “considering perhaps terminating the special counsel.”
“Mr. Ruddy never spoke to the president regarding this issue,” White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said in a statement. “With respect to the subject, only the president or his attorneys are authorized to comment.”
