DOJ No. 2 pick: No need to recuse from Russia probes 'at this time' 'Any investigation conducted by the Department of Justice is an independent investigation,' Rod Rosenstein says.

President Donald Trump’s nominee to be the Justice Department’s second-ranking official told senators on Tuesday that he knows of no reason he would have to step aside from leading federal probes into communications between the Trump campaign and the Russian government.

At the outset of Rod Rosenstein’s confirmation hearing for deputy attorney general, he also declined to commit to appointing an independent prosecutor to take over the investigation, as many Democrats have demanded.


Under questioning from Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, Rosenstein said he is not aware of any basis that would force him to recuse himself from any Russia-related probes, although he qualified that he doesn’t have access to all the relevant information because he is currently not involved in the matter.

“I’m not aware of any requirement for me to recuse at this time,” Rosenstein told the committee.

He said he has “not to my knowledge” met with officials from the Russian government. And he also told senators that he had had no conversations with Attorney General Jeff Sessions — who recused last week from any investigations related to the campaign — about his previous communications with Russian officials.

Sessions effectively handed off the responsibility for any Russia-related investigation to the deputy attorney general, raising the stakes for Rosenstein’s confirmation hearing.

“As far as I’m concerned, any investigation conducted by the Department of Justice is an independent investigation,” Rosenstein, a veteran DOJ official, testified. “It’s my job to ensure that all investigations are conducted independently.”

Democrats are insisting on nothing less than Rosenstein appointing an independent counsel to lead any federal probe into connections between the Trump campaign and Russian officials. And though the deputy attorney general has a broad portfolio and runs the day-to-day operations of the Justice Department, questions about Russia — as well as Sessions' recusal — dominated the hearing.

In one contentious exchange, Grassley accused Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) of asking a "gotcha" question to Sessions that prompted his now-infamous response that he "did not have communications with the Russians" during his January confirmation hearing.

Sessions sent a letter to the committee on Monday clarifying his testimony, but Democrats say it's insufficient.

"Both of you know ... if I was going to ask you a gotcha question, I was going to tell you about it ahead of time," Grassley said to Rosenstein and Rachel Brand, the associate attorney general nominee who also had her confirmation hearing Tuesday. "And I consider what Sen. Franken asked Sessions at that late moment ... as a gotcha question."

Franken protested that "it was not a gotcha question, sir" but Grassley, furiously slamming his gavel, cut off Franken and moved on.

Under questioning by Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, the committee’s top Democrat, Rosenstein noted then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch declined calls for a special counsel when they first were made in early January.

“She rejected the request and, based on the media accounts, I believe she said exactly what I said: that she had confidence in the career professionals in the department and she had an additional piece of information — she presumably knows the facts,” Rosenstein said.

The nominee also suggested that he had no reason to think Lynch or the acting No. 2 official at the Justice Department, Dana Boente, had erred by failing to appoint a special counsel thus far — though Rosenstein also suggested that he wasn't ruling out the possibility.

“I don’t presume that Attorney General Lynch and acting Deputy Attorney General Boente are correct but if I determine that they’re mistaken, then I would overrule them,” Rosenstein said.

Still, Rosenstein pushed back against attempts from Democratic senators to try to secure a commitment from him to appoint a special counsel.

“You view it as an issue of principle that I need to commit to appoint a special counsel in a matter that I don’t even know if it’s being investigated," Rosenstein said under questioning from Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.). "And I view it as an issue of principle that, as a nominee for deputy attorney general, I should not be promising to take action in a particular case."

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) also pressed Rosenstein to clarify the parameters of Sessions’ recusal from the Russia probe, which Durbin noted did not extend to potential communications between the Trump transition team and Russian officials. Rosenstein repeatedly declined to answer, clearly frustrating Durbin.

Republicans have scoffed at the calls for a special counsel over the alleged Russian interference in the 2016 campaign. GOP lawmakers noted that many Democrats opposed calls for a special counsel in the federal investigation of Hillary Clinton’s use of a private e-mail server as secretary of state.

Rosenstein headed into his confirmation hearing on Tuesday with a stellar reputation in the legal community as a federal prosecutor who has served both Republican and Democratic administrations.

“There are times when special counsels are appropriate. But it’s far too soon to tell here,” Grassley said in his opening remarks. He later added: “Any insinuation that Mr. Rosenstein lacks the impartiality or professionalism necessary to handle these matters is out of line.”

The Iowa Republican also argued that investigations led by special counsels lack transparency because they are not mandated to release a public report of their findings.

While Grassley is correct that special counsels appointed under Justice Department regulations are not required to submit a public report at the conclusion of their work, the rules do allow for such a report, something ordinary federal prosecutors are not permitted to do.

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Rosenstein headed a recent probe into leaks of classified information not as a formal special counsel under Justice Department regulations, but through a special appointment for Rosenstein.

During one part of the hearing, Rosenstein also seemed to offer some indirect criticism of FBI Director James Comey. Under questioning by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), the nominee said prosecutors should not make out-of-court statements criticizing individuals who haven’t been charged with a crime.

“If we don’t charge them with a crime we have a responsibility not to disparage their character,” Rosenstein said. “We don’t do it gratuitously."

Comey publicly blasted former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last July for being “extremely careless” in her handling of classified messages in her private email account, although Clinton was not charged with any crime. The FBI director has said he spoke out because of the extraordinary public interest in the matter, although he acknowledged that his decision was open to debate.

Rosenstein also said he’d decide whether public statements were appropriate about an ongoing investigation, not the FBI director. Comey recently urged the Justice Department to rebut Trump's claim that Barack Obama had wire-tapped Trump Tower, according to an official briefed on the request, which was not fulfilled.

“Obviously, the FBI reports to the deputy attorney general," Rosenstein said. "Mr. Comey was deputy attorney general. So, I'm sure he appreciates that chain of command."