>>1497716 (Qlb)
"Should Rosenstein step down now, Solicitor General Noel Francisco would take over the probe, not Panuccio. (Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from the Russia inquiry last year.)"
>[RR] recuse/fired who has direct oversight of >Mueller?
>Sessions un-recuse or #3 [until refill]?
It would not be the number 3 at the DOJ, it would be the Solicitor General Noel Francisco
>1498684
ID: a45f11
Idk but I have seen the same info in more than one place about Noel Francisco taking over.
https://washingtonmonthly.com/2018/04/16/the-man-who-would-oversee-the-mueller-probe-if-trump-fired-rosenstein/
It looks like Panuccio would be "acting" associate attorney general but not eligible to oversee Russia investigation. Only the official replacement can do that and until an official replacement is named it would default to the Solicitor General which is Noel Francisco
>"The succession question is actually a bit complicated. By default, under an obscure statute known as the the Vacancies Reform Act of 1998, Brand’s temporary successor as the “acting” associate attorney general is her principal deputy, Jesse Panuccio. That same statute would also allow the president to choose someone else to serve as the “acting” AAG on a temporary basis for up to 210 days; the pool of individuals from which the president could draw in this case includes individuals already holding Senate-confirmed positions elsewhere in the executive branch (like EPA administrator Scott Pruitt) or senior civil service lawyers in the Justice Department, specifically."
"Acting"
Either way the "acting" #3 would not take over the Russia investigation. It would go to the Solicitor General Noel Francisco unless an official replacement has been chosen and confirmed by POTUS.