"I think he's looking for information that would bolster the case that Comey made publicly and in his memos - that he believed Trump had directed him to drop the investigation into Michael Flynn, who was President Trump's first national security adviser".
Rosenstein became the Justice Department official overseeing the investigations into the Russian Federation election meddling and Trump after Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from any matters arising from the 2016 presidential campaigns because he served as a prominent Trump campaign adviser.
He said: "I am being investigated for firing the FBI Director by the man who told me to fire the FBI Director!"
The Democratic National Committee called on Mr Rosenstein to recuse himself from the Russian Federation matter, but it said authority over the investigation should be given to Mr Mueller and not another Trump appointee. Comey was sacked by the president on May 9 while he was overseeing the investigation into potential Russian interference into last year's election and potential collusion with the Trump presidential campaign. Obstruction of justice is a potentially impeachable offense. All previous investigations have mostly been about Russia's meddling in the presidential election, and, as James Comey confirmed, Trump was never personally under investigation.
A spokesman for the Justice Department did not respond to an email request for clarification and comment Friday morning. A day later, Rosenstein appointed Mueller as special counsel.
Senate approves new Russia sanctions
Share with Us - We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article, and smart, constructive criticism. But administration officials have appeared more cautious about stifling the Kremlin with tough rhetoric and sanctions.
"Fox News Sunday" anchor Chris Wallace questioned why President Donald Trump continues to tweet about the Russian Federation investigation, contrary to what most lawyers would advise.
Trump's tweets prompted Sen.
Vice President Mike Pence sent out this tweet shortly after the rant. The White House initially said that was the main reason for the Federal Bureau of Investigation director's dismissal.
Comey was sacked on 9 May, and initially the White House cited his handling of the investigation into Hillary Clinton's private email server as the reason for his termination, releasing a memo authored by deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein as a basis for this action.
In recent weeks, there has been a lot of reporting that Trump has grown frustrated that there is a "Russia cloud" hovering over his presidency and wants to find a way to remove it. Sad!" he wrote. "Despite the phony Witch Hunt going on in America, the economic & jobs numbers are great.
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