Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein is expected to retire within three weeks

February 19, 2019, 03:08 GMT

By Pete Williams and Doha Madani

According to Justice Department officials, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein will likely leave his position in about three weeks.

This word comes just days after the Senate confirmed the name of William Barr's new attorney general.

Rosenstein, who oversees the investigation of special advocate Robert Mueller, said in January that he would leave shortly after the arrival of a new attorney general, but that It would remain long enough to ensure an orderly transition.

Officials from the Justice Department said that Rosenstein's departure was unrelated to recent comments from former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe, who has just published a book titled "The Threat: how the FBI protects Americans in the era of terror and Trump ".

McCabe said in an interview on the "60 Minutes" show Sunday that Rosenstein was planning to carry a thread in meetings with the president.

The Department of Justice has challenged this statement and other claims by McCabe, calling his recollection "inaccurate and factually inaccurate".

Rosenstein had overseen Mueller's investigation into possible collusion during the Trump campaign with Russia and an obstruction of justice after former Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself because of his role in the campaign Trump.

Even under Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker, appointed November 7 to temporarily sit at the Sessions Headquarters, Rosenstein continued to help oversee the special advocate's investigative process.

With Barr, now Attorney General, he will fully support the investigation.

Rosenstein has always defended Mueller and the Justice Department against the attacks of the president and some Republicans in Congress.

He said at a conference held on the occasion of Law Day last May that the department "will not be extorted", after Republicans in the House have raised the possibility of seeking removal from Rosenstein.

The attacks were a shock for Rosenstein, who enjoyed bipartisan support for most of his three decades as a federal prosecutor. But his support for Congress faltered when he wrote a memo explaining Trump's decision to dismiss FBI director James Comey.