Rachel Brand, the number three official at the Department of Justice, notified associates Friday she is leaving after just nine months on the job and accepting an opportunity in the private sector.
Ms. Brand’s profile had risen in part because she is next in the line of succession behind the deputy attorney general, Rod J. Rosenstein, who is overseeing the special counsel’s inquiry into Russian influence in the 2016 election. Mr. Trump, who has called the investigation a witch hunt, has considered firing Mr. Rosenstein.
Such a move could have put her in charge of the special counsel and, by extension, left her in the cross hairs of the president.
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In her current job, she reports directly to Mr. Rosenstein and Jeff Sessions, the attorney general, who has recused himself from the Russia investigation.
Mr. Trump in recent weeks has escalated his criticism of the department for its handling of the inquiry and suggested that top law enforcement officials should face consequences for conduct he called “a disgrace.”
No. 3 Official at the Justice Department Is Stepping Down (NYT)
Related: Who is Rachel Brand, and how does her resignation affect Mueller's Russia investigation? (NBC News Opinion)