The Washington Post wrote Wednesday that Special Counsel Robert Mueller had expanded the inquiry into Russian election interference to include whether Trump obstructed justice.
Supporters of President Donald Trump floated the idea Monday that Trump should fire Mueller, and Chris Ruddy, a Trump confidant, told reporters after leaving the White House yesterday that Trump was considering doing just that.
"The chain of command for the special counsel is only directly to the attorney general - and in this case, the acting attorney general", he said.
Rod Rosenstein, deputy attorney general.
"Senator, I'm not going to follow any order unless I believe those are lawful and appropriate orders", Rosenstein said.
Under questioning from Van Hollen, Rosenstein also testified that removing the special counsel in order to prevent the investigation-as Trump himself implied he did in the firing of Comey-would also not constitute good cause. Lindsey Graham of SC tried to clarify where that line for "good cause" was.
"If there were not good cause, it wouldn't matter to me what anybody says".
The special counsel is examining Trump's possible obstruction of justice
Donald Trump is now being investigated over whether he personally tried to obstruct justice, according to United States media. In other words, President Trump committed a felony if he acted with the intent of impeding the FBI investigation.
Last night, a longtime friend of President Trump, Christopher Ruddy, said the president is considering firing Mueller.
The former House speaker Newt Gingrich, an informal Trump adviser, tweeted on Monday: "Republicans are delusional if they think the special counsel is going to be fair". "With respect to this subject, only the president or his attorneys are authorized to comment", White House press secretary Sean Spicer told NPR.
Rosenstein said that he is the only one now charged with possibly firing Mueller and that he does not see the required "good cause" to do so.
The conservative commentator Ann Coulter offered a similar message, tweeting: "Now that we know Trump is not under investigation, Sessions should take it back and fire Mueller".
Because Sessions had recused himself from the Russia investigation over his connection to Trump's campaign and his undisclosed meetings with the Russian ambassador, it was Rosenstein's decision to appoint a special counsel to lead the investigation.
CNN recently had to add an embarrassing correction to a story ahead of former FBI Director James Comey's testimony. Comey said he and other Federal Bureau of Investigation officials expected Sessions to recuse himself before it was publicly announced but would not discuss why they came to that conclusion.
The appearances, however, are likely to be overshadowed by Attorney General Jeff Sessions' public appearance at a Senate intelligence committee hearing.
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