Rod Rosenstein, Deputy Attorney General Nominee, Faces Senate Committee

Rod Rosenstein, currently the U.S. attorney for the District of Maryland, testified Tuesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee for the position of deputy attorney general for the Justice Department. Rachel Brand, a lawyer and former appointee to President Obama's Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, also testified as a nominee for the position of associate attorney general.

While the appointment of a deputy to a Cabinet-level position would not necessarily garner much attention, observers are tuning in because of Attorney General Jeff Sessions' recent announcement that he will recuse himself from any investigation of the Trump campaign. This means, if confirmed, any such investigations, including those about potential ties to Russian intelligence and their apparent interference in the 2016 election, will be Rosenstein's responsibility.

So it was of little surprise when one of the first questions Rosenstein asked was whether or not he has had contact with Russian officials. It was the revelation that Sessions' answer to a similar question during his own hearings was not accurate that led to his announcement that he would recuse himself from campaign investigations. (For more information on this and other political stories, subscribe to the White House Patch for daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

Rosenstein acknowledged that he has met with many people in his life, some of whom may have been Russians. But to the best of his knowledge, he said, "I don't recall any such meetings."

He also said that he has not spoken with Sessions about the potential campaign investigations or investigations of Russian activities. He noted during his statement, "Political affiliation is irrelevant to my work."

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrat, asked Rosenstein whether he would appoint a special prosecutor to look into the Russian interventions in the election. The nominee said he could not definitively answer the question without reviewing the information that would be available to him as deputy attorney general.

Watch the proceedings below:

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