Feinstein calls for deputy AG to name special prosecutor or resign

A second key Senate Democrat is calling on Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to resign if he does not name a special prosecutor to handle the investigation into Russia’s election interference.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said in a statement that she supports “Senator Durbin’s call for Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to resign if he is unwilling to appoint a special counsel. These investigations are far too important to risk disruption, delay or interference.”

Feinstein’s comments were part of a larger statement calling for the Judiciary Committee to hold hearings on President Trump’s decision to fire FBI Director James Comey. Feinstein is the ranking Democrat on the committee.

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Democrats have doubled down on their push for the Department of Justice (DOJ) to name a special prosecutor in the wake of Comey’s firing this week.

But Sen. Dick Durbin (Ill.), the Senate’s No. 2 Democrat, went further earlier Friday in calling on Rosenstein to either name a special prosecutor or resign “to preserve his reputation as a credible prosecutor.”

Rosenstein is increasingly under a spotlight for his role in Comey’s firing.

Rosenstein wrote the memo this week that the White House initially used as its public rationale for Comey’s firing. But Trump told NBC News that he would have fired Comey “regardless” of the DOJ’s recommendation.

Feinstein and Durbin’s statements come less than a month after senators voted 94-6 to make Rosenstein the No. 2 DOJ official. Both Feinstein and Durbin supported his nomination.

Democrats pressed Rosenstein during his committee hearing to weigh in on their push for a special prosecutor to look into Russia’s election interference.

But Rosenstein sidestepped, noting that he didn’t have the underlying facts.

“I’m simply not in a position to answer that,” he said in response to a question from Feinstein.