Attorney General Jeff Sessions says Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein has no conflict in staying on in his role overseeing the special counsel's Russia investigation.
Senator Lindsay Graham (R-SC) recently questioned why Rosenstein has not recused himself from the investigation given his role in President Trump's firing of FBI Director James Comey, an incident Special Counsel Robert Mueller is considering as he probes possible obstruction of justice.
CNN:
Sessions said in an interview released Thursday that he was the one who made the decision to recommend to Trump that he fire Comey, not Rosenstein -- and that therefore Rosenstein isn't disqualified from his role in the Russia investigation.
"That decision ... really fell to me, ultimately, on the Comey matter," Sessions, who recused himself from the Russia investigation, told CNN affiliate Hill.TV's morning show "Rising." "And that's not a disqualifying thing."
(...)
Sessions told Hill.TV that the Justice Department recommendations leading to Comey's termination were the right call.
"I think it was the right thing to do, and the facts were pretty clear on it. He made a big mistake, and he testified only a few weeks before that termination that he would do it again if he had the opportunity. So we felt there was a serious breach of discipline within the department if we allowed him to continue," Sessions added.
Sessions takes responsibility for keeping Rosenstein in charge of Russia investigation (CNN)