Sen. Dianne Feinstein said Thursday that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein was "very circumspect" in responding to questions in a classified briefing about the memo he wrote that President Donald Trump cited in his firing of FBI Director James Comey last week.
"He was very circumspect," the California Democrat told Wolf Blitzer on CNN. "I was rather surprised."
Rosenstein, who appointed former FBI Director Robert Mueller Wednesday as special prosecutor in the Russia investigation, met with the full Senate for about an hour to discuss Comey's dismissal.
"He was very circumspect," Feinstein emphasized, noting Rosenstein's appearance earlier this month before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
"He answered questions very directly, very precisely — and, today, he did not."
Feinstein told Blitzer that she also got the impression that Rosenstein was not supportive of Comey's termination.
"In the briefing he did not," she said, though she described his recommendation in the last paragraph of the Comey memo as "vaguely supportive."
"In the sense that the final paragraph of the memo says that he doesn't believe that Mr. Comey either could or would take the corrective actions that would be necessary to set this straight," she said.
The last paragraph of Rosenstein's memo says, in part: "The FBI is unlikely to regain public and congressional trust until it has a director who understands the gravity of the mistakes and pledges never to repeat them.
"Having refused to admit his errors, the director cannot be expected to implement the necessary corrective actions," the document says.
When Blitzer asked Feinstein whether she had confidence in Rosenstein, she responded: "I think it is fair to say I was a little puzzled that he wasn't more forthright in answers to many of the senators who had questions — and I would just like to leave it at that."
However, she praised his decision to appoint Mueller to oversee the Russia probe.
"It is a terrific appointment," Feinstein told Blitzer. "It says to both sides that this is going to be a strong, independent investigation."