In response to reports that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein acknowledged that he may need to recuse himself from the Russia probe but is considering handing it over to another Trump appointee, DNC spokesman Daniel Wessel released the following statement:

“Rod Rosenstein has no choice but to recuse himself from this investigation, but it would be unacceptable for him to simply hand over control to another Trump appointee.  After Trump’s repeated attempts to enlist top law enforcement officials to interfere in the investigation, there is no reason to believe that anyone within the administration could be effectively insulated from his influence. In order to ensure its independence, the probe should be taken out of the hands of any political appointee and Mueller should be given full control.”