No cause to fire special counsel Mueller: deputy attorney general

[June 14, 2017]    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The No. 2 official at the U.S. Justice Department on Tuesday told Congress the special counsel investigating Russia's alleged interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and possible collusion with the Trump campaign is going to have "the full degree of independence" he needs.

Deputy U.S. Attorney General Rod Rosenstein testifies about the Justice Department's budget before a subcommittee hearing of the Senate Appropriations Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S. June 13, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

"Director Mueller is going to have the full degree of independence that he needs to conduct that investigation appropriately," Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein told a Senate appropriations subcommittee, referring to special counsel Robert Mueller.

Rosenstein, who has the sole ability to fire Mueller given that Attorney General Jeff Sessions has recused himself from matters relating to the investigation, told the panel he had seen no evidence of good cause for letting Mueller go and that he would not follow any theoretical order to fire him absent such evidence.

(Reporting by Doina Chiacu; Writing by Tim Ahmann; Editing by Eric Walsh)

[© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2017 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.