Ex-AG Barr says DOJ likely has enough evidence to ‘legitimately’ indict Trump
Former Attorney General Rod Rosenstein made his second appearance before lawmakers Tuesday, explaining his reasons for recusing himself from the Justice Department’s Russia investigation, which has engulfed the White House since Donald Trump fired FBI Director James Comey.
Democrats and the White House have accused Rosenstein of not being impartial and too close to the president to oversee a probe that’s been criticized by Special Counsel Robert Mueller and others.
DURHAM, N.C. — Former Attorney General Eric Holder speaks during a news conference in Durham, N.C., March 24, 2017. Holder says he thinks the Trump administration is a “reckless, mean-spirited” administration, adding that the president’s firing of FBI Director James Comey sets dangerous precedent for other government officials in the future. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)
A White House lawyer speaking publicly for the first time about the firing of FBI Director James Comey said Tuesday that the president had informed him of his intent to fire Comey as soon as he was notified of the recommendation.
The lawyer, Ty Cobb, said the president, before he was briefed on the recommendation, had not thought he was in any jeopardy even though he had consulted the Justice Department and the attorney general.
A letter from the attorney general to the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee said the president “acted on the recommendation of the attorney general and deputy attorney general, without consultation with me, to terminate Mr. Comey’s employment.”
But Cobb also said the president “was not, in my opinion, advised that the Justice Department or the FBI would disagree with his decision to fire Director Comey.” The lawyer also said that FBI Director James Comey did not discuss with the president the FBI’s recommendation not to prosecute Hillary Clinton or the president’s request for the dismissal of General Michael Flynn.
In an interview after his appearance before the Judiciary Committee, Rosenstein said
