Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein knew FBI Director James Comey was going to be fired before he wrote a memo recommending Comey’s dismissal, a pair of Democratic senators said Thursday.

“He did acknowledge that he learned that Comey would be removed prior to him writing his memo,” Sen. Claire McCaskill Claire Conner McCaskillDemocratic-linked group runs ads in Kansas GOP Senate primary Trump mocked for low attendance at rally Missouri county issues travel advisory for Lake of the Ozarks after Memorial Day parties MORE (D-Mo.) told reporters after leaving a closed-door briefing with Rosenstein.

Sen. Claire McCaskill says deputy AG Rod Rosenstein knew Comey was going to be removed prior to writing his memo https://t.co/5Zj9QwwPd5 — CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) May 18, 2017

Sen. Dick Durbin Richard (Dick) Joseph DurbinMcConnell focuses on confirming judicial nominees with COVID-19 talks stalled Senate Republicans signal openness to working with Biden Top GOP senator calls for Biden to release list of possible Supreme Court picks MORE (D-Ill.) said Rosenstein knew of Comey’s dismissal one day before Trump announced Comey’s termination.

“He knew it the day before,” Durbin, the Senate minority whip, told reporters, adding that Rosenstein didn't indicate he was pressured to write the recommendation.

Rosenstein on Wednesday evening appointed former FBI Director Robert Mueller to serve as the special counsel for the investigation into Russian election interference and potential links between President Trump’s team and the Kremlin.

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The New York Times reported this week that Trump had asked Comey to let "go" of his investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn during a meeting in February.

Trump fired Comey last week, initially citing recommendations from Rosenstein and Attorney General Jeff Sessions Jefferson (Jeff) Beauregard SessionsTrump's policies on refugees are as simple as ABCs Ocasio-Cortez, Velázquez call for convention to decide Puerto Rico status White House officials voted by show of hands on 2018 family separations: report MORE. In an interview later, Trump said that "this Russia thing" played into his decision to fire Comey.

Comey reportedly kept a paper trail to document what he saw as the president’s improper attempts to influence his investigation.

McCaskill told reporters that Rosenstein is “anxious” to give Mueller the space to determine “where this investigation should go and what it should include.”

"As a former prosecutor, I respect that decision,” she added.

Updated: 4:01 p.m.