Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, said Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein should not step down from his post voluntarily following reports he was going to be fired or resign Monday morning.
Schiff, the top Democrat on the panel that had been conducting the lower chamber’s now-concluded Russia investigation, argued Rosenstein’s departure could compromise special counsel Robert Mueller’s independent probe into Russia’s election interference.
“Under no circumstances should Rod Rosenstein resign,” Schiff tweeted Monday. “This would place the Mueller investigation in even greater jeopardy. Rosenstein should continue to do his job, protect the independence of the DOJ, and if the President intends to obstruct justice, force Trump to fire him.”
The news of Rosenstein’s potential departure from the Department of Justice comes in the wake of a recent New York Times report alleging he discussed wearing wires to secretly record President Trump and debated invoking the 25th Amendment with top cabinet officials.
Rosenstein denied the report, calling it “inaccurate and factually incorrect.”
Rosenstein in a statement also said that “there is no basis to invoke the 25th Amendment” based on his dealings with Trump.