Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein dropped two bombshells during a hotly-anticipated appearance before the Senate on Thursday, less than 24 hours after he announced the appointment of a special prosecutor in the FBI’s investigation into Russian election meddling.
According to lawmakers, Rosenstein confirmed that the bureau’s investigation into Russian interference in the election is no longer strictly a counterintelligence investigation — a kind of probe that does not normally result in charges — but also a criminal one.
He also said he was aware President Trump intended to fire Comey prior to penning a memo that the White House later used as its justification for the dismissal.
Lawmakers emerged from the closed-door meeting painting a sober picture of the briefing. Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) described the mood in the room as serious and thoughtful.
Across town, as lawmakers descended into a secure facility to receive the briefing, Trump was ripping the appointment of the special counsel as something that “hurts the country.”
“I believe it hurts the country terribly, because it shows we’re a divided, mixed-up, not-unified country,” Trump told news anchors at a luncheon at the White House.
But Republicans declined to echo the president’s outrage amid an increasingly bipartisan swirl of concern that the White House may have tried to interfere with the FBI’s investigation.
“The president is entitled to his opinion, but we’re a nation of laws. … The acting attorney general has the authority to appoint a special counsel and has done so,” Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) told reporters.
Rosenstein met with lawmakers for more than an hour, but apparently gave few details about the decision-making process for firing Comey, including the role of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who instructed him to write the Comey memo, or any conversations he had with President Trump.
……
- Discussion
-
Deputy AG briefs senators on expanding Russia probe to criminal investigation https://t.co/qUpGl4DHSf pic.twitter.com/wzMUxZEfqI
— The Hill (@thehill) May 19, 2017
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.