Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein’s role overseeing the special counsel probe of Russian interference in the 2016 campaign came into question Friday as President Trump openly suggested the top DOJ official is conflicted and a new report said Rosenstein has discussed the possibility of recusal.
Senior Justice Department officials pushed back on the ABC News report, saying Rosenstein has not at this point requested any official opinion on the matter from career ethics attorneys in the department.
“He may have brought up the possibility” in discussions with DOJ colleagues, a senior DOJ official said. “But it’s only that, a possibility. … There is an official process, and it has not started.”
On the record, Justice Department spokesman Ian Prior said: “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.”
Originally published by Fox Nation.
