Deputy AG remains opposed to special prosecutor for Russia probe
Even after being fully briefed on the details of the Russia investigation, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein remains opposed to appointing a special prosecutor to oversee the case.
He has previously expressed opposition to turning over Justice Department investigations to special prosecutors. In his confirmation hearing, Rosenstein testified that that "every investigation conducted by the DOJ is an independent investigation." He still believes that is true of the Russia investigation, despite everything that has occurred.
As Rosenstein sees it, there is always a politician somewhere calling for a special prosecutor on some investigation, and he believes the Department of Justice should not be handing off those investigations just because they are politically charged. He firmly believes that he should allow career investigators and prosecutors to handle this case.
It appears that it would take a major revelation or bombshell -- one that would hamper the FBI or Justice Department's ability to investigate or prosecute this case -- to convince Rosenstein that the probe should be handed off to an outside counsel.
