CNN reported that Trump wanted the Department of Justice to appoint a special counsel to investigate his false allegations of vote fraud. Trump also discussed that the department should appoint a special council to investigate Hunter Biden, the son of incoming president Joe Biden.
The justice department said no special advice had been appointed in the past month.
Rosen’s departure makes way for an unusual arrangement to start the Biden administration.
Later Wednesday, Monty Wilkinson, a career lawyer from the Department of Justice and former deputy chief of staff of Eric Holder, is expected to be acting attorney general until Biden’s nominee Merrick Garland is confirmed. 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 serve as acting attorney general.
With Rosen’s departure, Demers would normally be the acting attorney general. But Biden relies on a Trump-era legal opinion that installed Matt Whitaker as acting attorney general after Trump fired Jeff Sessions. Democrats question the legality of the appointment, but now Biden is using the precedent to appoint Wilkinson as acting attorney general.
Demers will remain under Biden at the Justice Department for a while, regardless. Under U.S. law, a Senate-confirmed official must serve as Attorney General at all times to handle sensitive national security matters. Demers will be the highest official to approve FISA orders.
Rosen is a former white-collar and corporate lawyer who maintained a relatively low profile while William Barr viewed the spotlight as a fierce defender of Trump, before finally exposing the lie of Trump’s fraudulent claims.
After Barr’s departure, critics feared that Rosen would give in to the White House pressure. But despite requests from Trump personally as well as other White House officials, Rosen refused.
Rosen also spoke out about the attack on the U.S. Capitol and helped oversee the federal law enforcement response to secure the inauguration.