The U.S. Justice Department’s No. 3 official is planning to step down at a time of turmoil in the agency.
A friend of Associate Attorney General Rachel Brand told The Associated Press she is stepping down for a private sector job. The person spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the move ahead of an official announcement expected next week.
The friend says Brand accepted a job at a large corporation but would not provide specifics. The New York Times first reported her departure.
Brand attracted interest because of her potential to assume a key role in the Trump-Russia investigation. The official overseeing special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, Rod Rosenstein, has been repeatedly criticized by President Donald Trump. If Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general for the Justice Department, had been fired or quit, oversight would have fallen to Brand.
Rosenstein oversees Mueller’s investigation because Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from the matter last year.
U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, left, accompanied by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, centre, and Associate Attorney General Rachel Brand, listen to the national anthem during the opening ceremony of the summit. Sessions offered praise for Rosenstein and Brand, saying they ‘represent the kind of quality and leadership that we want in the department.’ (Jose Luis Magana/Associated Press)
Brand’s resignation is the latest sign of turmoil at U.S. law enforcement agencies, which have come under sustained attack by Trump and his Republican allies in recent months.
The Times report that Brand will resign cites two people briefed on her decision.
News of her departure comes a week after Trump approved the release of a previously classified memo written by Republican lawmakers that portrayed the Russia investigation, initially handled by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and now headed by Mueller, as a product of political bias against Trump at the Justice Department and FBI.
Trump also has criticized Sessions for recusing himself.
On Feb. 2, just hours before Trump approved the release of the Republican memo, Sessions offered praise for Rosenstein, the department’s No. 2 official, and Brand, saying they “represent the kind of quality and leadership that we want in the department.” Neither Brand nor a Justice Department spokesperson could be immediately reached for comment.
