Rosenstein, who appointed Mueller in mid-May as special counsel overseeing the the investigation into whether the President Donald Trump's campaign colluded with Russian officials during the 2016 election, noted that under the special counsel regulations, only the attorney general has the authority to fire such an appointee. The president was pleased by the ambiguity of his position on Mr. Mueller, and thinks the possibility of being fired will focus the veteran prosecutor on delivering what the president desires most: "a blanket public exoneration".
"If there were good cause, I would consider it".
- Ahead of U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions' testimony before the Senate intelligence committee Tuesday came another surprising revelation about the Trump administration.
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein is on Capitol Hill today at 10 a.m. ET, addressing the budget appropriations committees for both the House and the Senate.
The suggestion that the scope of Mueller's investigation may extend beyond the Trump campaign's activity to the recent firing of the FBI Director would indicate that the special counsel could be looking into a possible cover-up.
Rosenstein said that if he fired Mueller, he would be required to explain it in writing.
"Director Mueller is going to have the full degree of independence that he needs to conduct that investigation appropriately", Rosenstein said. Ruddy told PBS that he thinks it would be "a very significant mistake" for Trump to seek Mueller's termination.
Judge Declares Mistrial in Bill Cosby Sexual Assault Trial
The 79-year-old Cosby is accused of drugging and molesting a Temple University employee in 2004 at his home near Philadelphia. As the deliberations continued on Wednesday, the crowd outside the Montgomery County courthouse appeared to have grown.
He is scheduled to testify before two congressional hearings on Tuesday and is likely to face even more pointed questions about the Russian Federation probe and the independence of the Justice Department in light of Ruddy's comments. Mr Ruddy said Mr Mueller has some "conflicts" because his former law firm, Wilmer Hale, also representing Ms Ivanka Trump, the President's daughter, and her husband, Mr Jared Kushner.
"I think he is considering perhaps terminating the special counsel", Ruddy said.
"Chris Ruddy speaks for himself", Spicer said.
Conservative news outlets have been working hard to discredit Mueller in recent days, citing what Fox News' Sean Hannity called his "massive conflict of interest"-a friendship with fired Federal Bureau of Investigation director James Comey".
Gingrich said on Twitter that 'Republicans are delusional if they think the special counsel is going to be fair.
"I don't think Newt said that", Graham told reporters. The regulations that govern the special counsel were issued by the Department of Justice and could be rescinded by DOJ.
Under Department of Justice rules, it is actually up to the deputy attorney general to make that call, though the president could bypass that protocol.
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