Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein played a central role in the drama, having written a memo that laid out why James Comey should be fired, citing the FBI director’s unconventional approach to the Hillary Clinton email probe. | Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images Mueller’s team interviewed Rosenstein over the summer

Special counsel Robert Mueller’s team interviewed Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein over the summer about President Donald Trump’s decision to fire FBI Director James Comey, according to a person briefed on the encounter.

Since the interview, which happened two to three months ago, Rosenstein has continued to oversee Mueller’s sprawling Russia-related probe, this person said, despite Rosenstein’s role in the Comey firing and critics’ call for him to recuse himself from the investigation.


A Justice Department spokesman declined to discuss the interview, but confirmed that Rosenstein remains the department official with ultimate responsibility for the probe.

"As the Deputy Attorney General has said numerous times, if there comes a time when he needs to recuse, he will. However, nothing has changed,” DOJ spokesman Ian Prior said.

A spokesman for Mueller declined comment. The Wall Street Journal first reported that Mueller’s team had interviewed Rosenstein.

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Mueller’s probe has grown to include questions of whether Trump obstructed justice by firing Comey, after having reportedly asked for his help in making the probe into his former national security adviser Michael Flynn go away.

Rosenstein played a central role in the drama, having written a memo that laid out why Comey should be fired, citing the FBI director’s unconventional approach to the Hillary Clinton email probe. White House officials initially said Trump relied upon that memo in his decision to oust Comey, but Trump himself later said the memo was not a central factor and that he had the Russia investigation in mind when considering whether to let Comey go.

