The only man who can fire special counsel Robert Mueller, the man charged with investigating Russian interference in the USA election and possible collusion with Trump's campaign, says he sees no good cause to do so.
Meanwhile, I can say based on my reporting that Mueller is not anxious at all about his position, and does not believe the criticism of whether he has a conflict was orchestrated. Rosenstein would be the one to fire Comey, which he repeatedly assured senators Tuesday he would not consider without "good cause". "If there were not good cause, it wouldn't matter to me what anybody says".
Sessions on Tuesday declined to discuss his interactions with Trump, saying the President may one day want to invoke executive privilege for himself.
Under Justice Department regulations created to ensure a measure of independence for the special counsel, Rosenstein may only fire Mueller for "good cause".
Attorney General Jeff Sessions seemed to have a fuzzy memory during his testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee Tuesday.
Ruddy appeared to be basing his remarks, at least in part, on comments from Jay Sekulow, a member of Trump's legal team, who told ABC in an interview Sunday that he was "not going to speculate" on whether Trump might at some point order Rosenstein to fire Mueller. Trump called because "I have been very clear" about Mueller and the lawyers he's hired amounting to a "rigged game", Gingrich said.
"I responded to his comment by agreeing that the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Department of Justice needed to be careful to follow department policies regarding appropriate contacts with the White House", he said.
Voters trust former FBI Director James Comey to tell the truth more than President Trump, according to a new poll.
"The President did talk with him in the days before he was named special counsel", Ruddy told PBS on Monday in the same interview where he said Trump was "considering terminating" Mueller as special counsel.
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But both Rosenstein and Sessions serve at the pleasure of the president, and if Rosenstein refused to fire Mueller, in theory, Trump could appoint someone to Rosenstein's job who would do his bidding, just as Nixon did after the infamous "Saturday Night Massacre", where Robert Bork (yes, that Robert Bork) carried out Nixon's wishes.
"I am protecting the right of the president to assert it if he chooses, and there may be other privileges that apply", he said.
In his testimony last week, Comey said he and Trump had a one-on-one meeting in the Oval Office on February 14 about the investigation into the former national security adviser, Michael Flynn.
"I can not and will not violate my duty to protect the confidential communications I have with the president", he said.
The next major meeting for House and Senate Russia investigators is with Mueller himself, the first since he was appointed.
Reports say Trump has been advised against firing the special counsel, but the president has not ruled out the possibility.
Trump ally Chris Ruddy has caused quite a stir over the past 24 hours. The appearance before the Senate intelligence committee gave Sessions a chance to defend himself, but offered little new insight. "And there is no collusion between certainly myself and my campaign, but I can always speak for myself - and the Russians, zero", Trump responded. "Ruddy never spoke to the president regarding this issue", Spicer said.
Sessions said it would be "absurd" to suggest that a recusal from a single investigation would render him unable to manage the leadership of the FBI. Their fury knows no bounds, with character assassination now routine because they can't handle the truth about the 2016 election.
Sessions criticized Comey for not raising his concerns with the acting attorney general after the February 14 Oval Office meeting when Trump, according to Comey, asked the FBI to back off its investigation of fired National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.
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