CNN has reported that Trump wanted the Justice Department to appoint special counsel to investigate his false allegations of vote fraud. Trump has also discussed that the department should appoint special counsel to investigate Hunter Biden, the son of president-to-be Joe Biden.
The Justice Department said no special advisers have been appointed in the past month.
Rosen’s departure gives way to an unusual arrangement to start Biden’s administration.
Later Wednesday, Monty Wilkinson, Justice Department attorney and former Deputy Chief of Staff Eric Holder, is expected to act as attorney general until Biden’s nominee Merrick Garland is confirmed, people briefed on the matter. Wilkinson is Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Human Resources and Administration.
And for a few hours, until Biden signs an executive order to appoint Wilkinson, John Demers, Assistant Attorney General for the National Security Division, will act as Acting Attorney General.
With Rosen leaving, Demers would normally be the acting Attorney General. But Biden is relying on a Trump-era legal opinion that established Matt Whitaker as acting attorney general after Trump fired Jeff Sessions. Democrats questioned the legality of that appointment, but now Biden is using that precedent to appoint Wilkinson as acting attorney general.
Demers will remain under Biden at Justice for a while anyway. Under US law, a Senate-confirmed official must act as attorney general at all times to handle sensitive national security matters. Demers will be the highest ranking official to approve FISA orders.
Rosen is a former white-collar and corporate lawyer who stuck relatively low, while William Barr was in the spotlight as a fierce defender of Trump, before finally exposing the lie of Trump’s vote-fraud claims.
After Barr’s departure, critics feared Rosen would give in to White House pressure. But despite requests from Trump personally and other White House officials, Rosen declined.
Rosen has also spoken out about the attack on the US Capitol and helped monitor the response of federal law enforcement to secure the inauguration.