Rod Rosenstein says if ordered to fire Mueller, "I would follow the reg. If there were good cause, I would act. If there were no good cause, I would not." As of today, he says, he still has seen no good cause to fire Mueller.
Rosenstein said he consults regularly with Mueller and the special counsel is conducting himself consistently with his understanding of the scope of his investigation.
To the extent there is any ambiguity about the scope (expansion/clarification) of Mueller's jurisdiction, Mueller has sought and obtained Rosenstein's authorization to do what he is doing, RR says.
Asked if political texts/contributions of some Mueller staffers creates appearance of impropriety, Rosenstein says no violation of DOJ rules & special counsel employees subject to civil-service rule that can't take political affiliation into account for career hiring decisions.
Rep Chabot (R-OH) lists Mueller staffers who contributed to Dems & calls them biased partisans, Rosenstein says there's a diff btwn political affiliation & bias & says Mueller is committed to making sure any staffer's personal political views do not affect investigation decisions
Bottom line: Rod Rosenstein today is resending a clear signal that if Trump decides to fire Mueller based on anything that has happened so far, Trump would have to 1st fire Rosenstein & go hunting down the DOJ hierarchy for someone willing to do it, Saturday Night Massacre style.
