WASHINGTON �� The investigation of Russian interference in the U.S. election and possible collusion by associates of President Donald Trump is not a "fishing expedition," the Justice Department official who began it said Sunday.
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein declined to comment on whether special counsel Robert Mueller, who leads the investigation, had convened a grand jury to help collect information on the case.
Rosenstein appointed Mueller to lead the federal criminal investigation in May.
In general, the presence of a grand jury doesn't say anything about the likelihood of an indictment, Rosenstein said. "It's a tool that we use just like any other tool," he said on "Fox News Sunday."
Trump last week called suggestions that members of his campaign had colluded with Russia during the 2016 election "a total fabrication."
"We don't engage in fishing expeditions," said Rosenstein, who has more than 25 years of experience working in the Justice Department through Republican and Democratic administrations.
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(Patricia Laya contributed to this report.)
