On June 3, former Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said he would have never approved a foreign surveillance warrant that the FBI used in its Russia investigation; however, he defended his decision to assigning former special counsel Robert Mueller the duty of investigating the Russian election interference and interrogating Donald Trump's associate.
While testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday during Senate Republicans' first hearing, Rosenstein took a jab at the foundation of the Russian investigation by the FBI. Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham, who is a top Trump ally and a South Carolina Republican tried to pressurize Rosenstein by asking whether or not Mueller's appointment was necessary, given that no conspiracy was detected between Russia and the president's team.
Graham asked Rosenstein if he agreed with the general statement that the whole theory about the campaign plotting with the Russians in August 2017, was not there. Rosenstein responded saying he agreed with that general statement, adding that there was reasonable suspicion that led to the investigation and the probe was opened systematically even though no conspiracy was found. Rosenstein said his decision to appoint Mueller was correct.
Rosenstein, who spearheaded the Mueller investigation, said he believed his decision to appoint Mueller was the right one at the time and still believes he made the right move under those circumstances. He said it was important to confirm that an independent investigation discovered that the Russians tried to interfere in the election and that no American was part of this conspiracy.
Rosenstein's testimony marks the beginning of a series of hearings that Graham is creating as part of a probe that investigates the beginning of the FBI's investigation in Donald Trump's allies and Russia, dubbed as Crossfire Hurricane and the Mueller inquiry, which came after it. Normally, the testimony of former deputy attorney general who spearheaded a special investigation on the president would be a piece of noteworthy news, but the ongoing pandemic and the nationwide protest over George Floyd's death stole the spotlight, CNN reported.
Divulging details about the investigation, Graham said after looking into the role Russia played in the election, they are going to check the Mueller investigation, including his appointment in May 2017 to understand whether or not there was a crime that required investigation. Moreover, Graham said they will try and figure out how the whole investigation got off the rails, and who was responsible for it.