Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley is dismissing calls by Democrats that President Trump’s Deputy Attorney General nominee promise he’ll appoint a special prosecutor to investigate alleged connections between the Russians and Trump’s campaign.
The Judiciary panel will hold a hearing Tuesday on the confirmation of Rod Rosenstein, who is slated to take the number two position at the Justice Department.
Democrats on Monday said they will call on Rosenstein to promise during Tuesday’s hearing that he will appoint a special counsel to investigate the Russian matter.
Grassley, R-Iowa, said Rosenstein should make no such promise.
“There are times when special counsels are appropriate,” Grassley will tell the panel in excerpts of his opening remarkes released late Monday.
“But it’s far too soon to tell here. And even if there were evidence of a crime related to any of these matters, once confirmed Mr. Rosenstein can decide how to handle it. I know of no reason to question his judgment, integrity, or impartiality.”
Rosenstein could end up playing a pivotal role in further investigations into Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election because Attorney General Jeff Sessions, a former Trump campaign surrogate, has recused himself.
Grassley, in his remarks, will accuse Democrats of hypocrisy, noting incidents in the Obama administration that he believes would have justified a special counsel, including the botched “Fast and Furious” gunrunning operation that funneled American weapons into the hands of Mexican drug dealers and resulted in the death of a border patrol agent.
Grassley will also point to former Attorney General Loretta Lynch’s handling of the investigation of Hillary Clinton’s private email server.
“It would be easier to credit calls for special counsels if they were made with some consistency and intellectual honesty,” Grassley will tell the panel.
