Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Wednesday that President Trump’s nominee for attorney general, William Barr, has committed to allowing special counsel Robert Mueller to “complete his job.”
Graham, the incoming chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee that will be responsible for advancing Barr’s nomination in the upper chamber, made the comments after meeting with Barr inside his Senate office building.
Barr “has a very high opinion of Mr. Mueller and is committed to seeing Mr. Mueller complete his job,” Graham told reporters moments after the meeting.
Graham said that Barr also told him that he had spoken with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who informed Barr that “two years would probably be enough.”
Reports emerged Wednesday that Rosenstein, who has overseen the Russia probe since May 2017, is expected to leave the Justice Department within weeks, following the confirmation of Barr as attorney general.
Asked if he was concerned that Rosenstein plans to leave the DOJ upon Barr’s confirmation, Graham replied tersely “no.”
Trump’s attorney general nominee is making the rounds on Capitol Hill this week ahead of his confirmation hearing on Jan. 15. Trump nominated Barr after ousting Jeff Sessions from the post in November.
At least one Democratic lawmaker is concerned with Rosenstein‘s apparent pending departure from the Justice Department.
“I’m concerned about it because I’ve seen him as a reliable, steady public servant that understands his job and is willing to do [it] regardless of political pressure,” Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.) told. Hill.TV.
“Obviously since he’s no longer been able to … directly oversee this investigation, that is a problem unto itself. I understand he may feel it is time for him to move on, but any time we see some of these career public servants that have clearly done their duty absent of the politics of the moment, any time we see these folks leaving government raises a lot of concern because we wonder who is going to be there to say no when somebody has to say no. He was one of those people and if he’s not there that increases our anxiety.”
— Molly Hooper
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