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Article snippet: Solicitor General Noel Francisco is next in line to supervise special counsel MORE. The conservative Supreme Court litigator is the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) No. 4 official. However, he would take over the Russia probe since Attorney General MORE recused himself from the matter last year and there is no No. 3, following the February resignation of former Associate Attorney General Rachel Brand. Francisco is seen as more of a Trump loyalist than Rosenstein, but he could come under pressure to recuse himself given the law firm he previously worked for represents Trump. Reports of Rosenstein’s potential departure from the department circulated Monday morning, with some outlets reporting that Rosenstein had already offered his resignation after a bombshell New York Times story last week that he discussed wearing a wire around Trump and considered invoking the 25th Amendment. Rosenstein has fully denied the report. The White House said later Monday that Rosenstein, who became responsible for overseeing the probe in March 2017, would meet with Trump on Thursday. Some Democrats were quick to oppose the prospect of Francisco overseeing the probe. “If Rosenstein departs, Noel Francisco should not oversee the Special Counsel investigation. His previous firm Jones Day represents the @realDonaldTrump campaign in the Special Counsel investigation,” Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) tweeted. “This is a huge conflict of interest.” Francisco, who served as associate counsel to Presid... Link to the full article to read more