Justice department official in line to succeed Rod Rosenstein overseeing Trump-Russia probe is leaving
Associate attorney general Rachel Brand will reportedly step aside after less than a year on the job
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Your support makes all the difference.A top justice department attorney who would be next in line to oversee a probe into Russian election interference is stepping aside.
Associate attorney general Rachel Brand is planning to leave after less than a year on the job. The move is particularly significant because she would be in position to take over from deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein should he resign or be dismissed.
“I know the entire Department of Justice will miss her, but we join together in congratulating her on this new opportunity in the private sector”, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in a statement.
Mr Rosenstein is overseeing special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into whether the Russian government sought to work with Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.
After Mr Sessions recused himself from any involvement, which came in response to revelations he had previously undisclosed contact with Russian ambassador Sergei Kislyak, responsibility for overseeing the probe fell to Mr Rosenstein.
As Donald Trump has derided Mr Mueller’s investigation as a needless fishing expedition tainted by a partisan agenda, Mr Rosenstein has been a target of the President’s ire.
The President reportedly asked Mr Rosenstein if he was “on my team” and has mulled firing him. Asked last week if he still had confidence in Mr Rosenstein, Mr Trump told reporters “you figure that one out”.
With Republicans in Congress increasingly backing him up, Mr Trump has lashed out at justice department leadership for what he calls a biased and irredeemably tainted investigation.
He has blasted a memo released by House Republicans, over the Justice Department's objections and with Mr Trump's blessing, that accused the FBI and the justice department of misconduct in seeking to surveil a former Trump campaign aide.
“The top Leadership and Investigators of the FBI and the Justice Department have politicized the sacred investigative process in favor of Democrats and against Republicans — something which would have been unthinkable just a short time ago,” the President said on Twitter recently.
Mr Rosenstein also faced pointed questions from Republicans in Congress about anti-Trump text messages sent by an FBI agent, Peter Strzok, who was formerly part of Mr Mueller's team.
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