Rep. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, cautioned Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein against resigning, warning that it would jeopardize special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation.
Confusion swirled Monday as to whether Rosenstein had offered a verbal resignation or would be fired as he attended a meeting at the White House.
“Under no circumstances should Rod Rosenstein resign,” the California lawmaker tweeted. “This would place the Mueller investigation in even greater jeopardy. Rosenstein should continue to do his job, protect the independence of the DOJ, and if the President intends to obstruct justice, force Trump to fire him.”
[Opinion: Rosenstein fired or resigned? Here’s why the distinction matters.]
Under no circumstances should Rod Rosenstein resign. This would place the Mueller investigation in even greater jeopardy. Rosenstein should continue to do his job, protect the independence of the DOJ, and if the President intends to obstruct justice, force Trump to fire him.
— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) September 24, 2018
Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from matters involving the Russia investigation and President Trump’s campaign, leaving Rosenstein to oversee the probe.
“This looks to me like a slow-moving Saturday night massacre,” Schiff told MSNBC on Monday, comparing it to top Justice Department officials resigning in protest of former President Richard Nixon’s request to fire the independent special prosecutor investigating the Watergate scandal.
Schiff said last year’s firing of former FBI Director James Comey and Rosenstein’s departure, and the possible firing of Sessions after “are in their cumulative form the same as the Saturday night massacre — and all designed for the same end, and that is to give the president direct control over the investigation in which he may be implicated.”
