Former FBI boss Robert Mueller is set to lead the inquiry into Russian interference of the most recent U.S election and any collusion with the Trump campaign.
Robert Mueller is well respected in Washington, having headed the government intelligence agency from September 2001 until September of 2013. His appointment to head the inquiry will give him wide-reaching scope and the ability to bring criminal charges against the Trump administration.
The move towards extending investigations into Russian links and potential interference into the election intensified after Trump unceremoniously fired previous FBI chief James Comey, who was allegedly looking into such claims.
The Deputy Attorney General highlighted the necessity of the appointment of third party to investigate the allegations thoroughly and as objectively as possible.
In his statement announcing the move, Mr Rosenstein said: “The public interest requires me to place this investigation under the authority of a person who exercises a degree of independence from the normal chain of command.”
Reports have said that President Trump and those within the administration were informed of the decision after Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein signed the order.
This follows Mr Trump’s speech yesterday, in which he condemned the media for treating him unfairly as his time as President.
Trump said at the speech a the US Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut: “No politician in history, and I say this with great surety, has been treated worse or more unfairly. You can’t let them get you down.”
As the controversy around Trump’s presidency intensifies, markets have been reacting anxiously over the prospect of political turmoil in Washington.
Whilst all adminstration’s face scrutiny, the nature of the FBI inquiry into President Trump so early into his tenure is an unprecedented occurrence.
This has in turn, heightened speculation that should the inquiry find any such links between Russia and the Trump campaign, his impeachment may be increasingly inevitable.
Whilst political outsider Trump and the success of his campaign stunned pollsters back in November, mounting calls for his removal amid continual controversies suggest that Trump may find himself to be a “one-term President”.