But if Mr Rosenstein were to appoint one, the special counsel would still be ultimately subject to his control - and Mr Trump's.
Pence said Comey's firing was unrelated to the Russian Federation probe.
Trust in the White House's version of events, as explained by lawmakers and Trump's surrogates, has relied heavily on trust in Rosenstein, who was just confirmed by the Senate in a 94-6 vote last month.
"That Comey had lost the confidence of nearly everyone in Washington and saying when things calm down they will be be thanking me". He added: "when things calm down, they will be thanking me!"
"Comey's FBI was conducting it's own investigation into Russia's election interference and the Trump team's links to Moscow, as are the Senate and House Intelligence committees".
Mr Sessions said the department of justice was "committed to a high level of discipline, integrity, and the rule of law", and "a fresh start is needed".
"Today we'll no doubt hear calls for a new investigation which could only serve to impede the current work being done", McConnell said.
As the CEO of a family business, Trump is used to firing people who don't kowtow to him. But he noted that Democrats had repeatedly criticized Comey in the past and had called for his removal.
Loose wheel dashes Earnhardt's hopes — NASCAR notebook
Because if you go to watch a race at Talladega , your driver can literally possibly take the lead at any time in the race. We're not there yet, but they know we're here. "This year, every race, we're just getting better and better".
Sessions had invited Dallas Morning News Editorial Page Editor Keven Ann Willey to a meeting Wednesday over coffee to discuss congressional town halls, but their conversation quickly turned to President Donald Trump's firing of Comey late Tuesday.
Senate Intelligence Chairman Richard Burr, R-North Carolina, and Democratic Sen.
Trump, for his part, praised Comey in October after the director sent the letter on the email probe to Congress.
But according to reporters at The New York Times, White House aides said the Federal Bureau of Investigation director's exit came at Trump's urging.
This then led to Colbert touching on recent reporting that when Trump met President Barack Obama days after the election, Obama warned Trump about hiring retired General Michael Flynn as national security adviser, due to his ties with Russian Federation. But it is certain to fuel bipartisan criticism that President Trump appeared to be meddling in an investigation that had the potential to damage his presidency.
Tuesday night, Politico's Josh Dawsey reported that, per his sources, the decision to oust Comey came from the president and not the Justice Department. "An independent commission like a 9/11 commission that will look at the Russian attack, determine what can be done in response to it so we can be prepared for the next election".
It's true that Comey was leading a criminal investigation into the Trump campaign's links to Russian Federation.
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