Democratic lawmakers demanded special counsel be appointed to lead any investigation into Russian hacking of the 2016 presidential election, during the Senate Judiciary Committee’s confirmation hearing of Rod Rosenstein for deputy attorney general Tuesday. Rosenstein would take over any investigation into the Russian hacking, following Attorney General Jeff Sessions’s decision to recuse himself. That came after revelations Sessions met with Russia’s ambassador to the U.S. while serving as a campaign surrogate for Donald Trump. Minnesota Senator Al Franken has accused Sessions of committing perjury during his confirmation hearing for not revealing these meetings. On Tuesday, California Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein questioned Rosenstein during his confirmation hearing about whether he would appoint special counsel for any investigation into Russian hacking of the election.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein: “Given all of this and the heightened level of distrust on all sides, do you support the appointment of an independent special counsel to look into these matters?”

Rod Rosenstein: “The answer is: I’m simply not in a position to answer the question, because I don’t know the information that they know, the folks who are in the position to make that decision. And when I am in that position, I don’t—I don’t presume that Attorney General Lynch and acting Deputy Attorney General Boente are correct. I have a lot of respect for them, but if I determine that they’re mistaken, then I would overrule them.”

Also on Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said President Trump has not substantiated his claims that President Obama tapped his phones during the 2016 election because of “separation of powers.” This is Spicer being questioned by NBC’s Hallie Jackson.

Hallie Jackson: “So, bottom line, why would the president want Congress to investigate for information he already has?”

Press Secretary Sean Spicer: “I think there’s a separation-of-powers aspect here, as I mentioned to Jonathan, that we think it’s—”

Hallie Jackson: “But you talk about resources and time. Why waste that?”

Press Secretary Sean Spicer: “Well, it’s not a question of waste it. It’s a question of appropriateness.”

Hallie Jackson: “But if the president has the info—I guess what I’m trying to get to: If he’s sitting on this information that he found out, he’s now directing or asking or recommending that the intelligence committees look into this, and you talk about they have resources and staff, which they do—”

Press Secretary Sean Spicer: “Right.”

Hallie Jackson: “But why expend those resources and staff, if the president found out this information and has it?”

Press Secretary Sean Spicer: “I think there’s a difference between directing the Department of Justice, which may be involved in an ongoing investigation, and asking Congress, as a separate body.”