U.S. Deputy Attorney-General Rod Rosenstein said Tuesday he's seen no basis for firing Robert Mueller, the former FBI Director he appointed as special counsel to oversee an investigation into potential coordination between the Trump presidential campaign and Russian Federation.
The Washington Post, citing five people briefed on the requests who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Mr Dan Coats, the director of national intelligence, Mr Mike Rogers, the head of the National Security Agency, and Mr Richard Ledgett, the former deputy director at the NSA, had agreed to be interviewed by Mr Mueller's investigators as early as this week.
It is the most significant sign yet that Mueller's investigation is extending beyond questions of Russian interference in the 2016 election.
The move to investigate the US President comes after Mr Trump fired Federal Bureau of Investigation director James Comey on May 9, according to the The Post.
"The FBI leak of information regarding the president is outrageous, inexcusable and illegal", Mark Corallo, spokesman for attorney Marc Kasowitz, told dpa in an email.
Law enforcement sources tell CNN that the special counsel is gathering information and considering whether there is evidence to launch a full-scale obstruction investigation.
"Telling the FBI director to close down an investigation of your senior campaign adviser for his activities during your campaign for president - if that's true, that is obstruction of justice", Toobin said.
Mr Comey also said he had told Mr Trump that he was not under investigation.
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I think he is a decent man. "I do not know him well, though he and I once attended the same Pilates class", he revealed. Mr Varadkar will meet the leaders of the Democratic Unionist Party and Sinn Fein in Dublin on Friday.
Rosenstein told the Senate Appropriations Committee Tuesday that Mueller would have "the full degree of independence that he needs to conduct that investigation appropriately" and that he would not follow an order to fire the special counsel "unless I believe those are lawful and appropriate orders". He declined further comment.
Mr. Rosenstein repeatedly conveyed his support for Mr. Mueller's role at a recent Senate hearing.
The committee leaders said in a statement that they "look forward to future engagements" with Mr Mueller.
North Carolina Republican Richard Burr and Virginia Democrat Mark Warner aren't providing any other details regarding the meeting.
After the meeting with Mueller, Warner was asked by CNN's Manu Raju whether the committee is looking into obstruction of justice or if that was part of the special counsel investigation.
"I don't think it's for me to say whether the conversation I had with the president was an effort to obstruct", Comey said.
Grassley announced the investigation in a letter to California Sen.
Comey testified that initial explanations that he was sacked because of poor leadership were "lies, plain and simple".
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