Democrats pushed Tuesday for a special prosecutor to examine the Trump administration’s potential ties to Russia, using a confirmation hearing to urge the No. 2 pick at the Justice Department to consider handing over any such investigation to an independent overseer. “We need steel spines, not weak knees when it comes to political independence in the Department of Justice,” said Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, the Senate Judiciary Committee’s top Democrat. The remarks came during a hearing for Rod Rosenstein, a longtime federal prosecutor tapped for deputy attorney general, which instead became a referendum on Russian meddling in the presidential election.
As deputy, Rosenstein would assume oversight of a federal investigation into Russian influence after the recusal last week of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who said he would step aside from any probes into the Trump campaign after revelations of unreported contacts with the Russian ambassador last year.
Though repeatedly pressed by Democrats, Rosenstein would not commit to appointing a special prosecutor and said he was unaware of a basis to do so.
Rosenstein responded in lawyerly fashion to hours of questioning, saying he had no direct knowledge of any Russia-related investigation and had not read the intelligence community’s formal assessment that Russia interfered during the campaign on behalf of President Donald Trump.
Full Article: Dems seek special prosecutor in Russia election meddling | The Salt Lake Tribune.