Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein criticized former FBI Director James Comey for releasing his memos detailing his conversations with President Donald Trump, The Hill reports.
"We take confidentiality seriously, so when we have memoranda about our ongoing matters, we have an obligation to keep that confidential," Rosenstein said in an interview that will air Wednesday night on Fox News.
"So, I would take that that you would not approve of any releasing of memorandum written in an interviewer discussion with the president to the press?" asked host Martha MacCallum.
"As a general position, I think it is quite clear," he replied. "It's what we were taught, all of us as prosecutors and agents."
Rosenstein previously criticized Comey in a memo blasting his behavior as the head of the FBI, which Trump later used to defend the director's sudden dismissal.
"I cannot defend the Director's handling of the conclusion of the investigation of Secretary Clinton's emails, and I do not understand his refusal to accept the nearly universal judgment that he was mistaken," Rosenstein wrote in a May 9 memo to his superior, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, according to the Hill.
Comey's firing eventually led Rosenstein to appoint former FBI Director Robert Mueller as special counsel to head the FBI's investigation into Russian election interference. When asked if Mueller could have a conflict of interest due to his history working with Comey, the deputy said the counsel has "bipartisan" support, and that any conflicts of interest would be handled by the Justice Department.
"I've got to explain that I made the decision to appoint Director Mueller based upon his reputation. He had an excellent reputation. Really bipartisan support for his integrity. That's why I made that decision," Rosenstein said.
"But, I can assure you that if there were conflicts that arose, because Director Mueller or anybody employed by Director Mueller, we have a process within the department to take care of that."
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