maybe questions instead of outright declarations. >> the president is a neophyte to politics, he's been doing this for a little over a year. a lot of things he says you guys sometimes take literally. >> reporter: meanwhile president trump's pick for deputy attorney general refusing to say whether a special prosecutor should investigate russia's election meddling. >> i'm simply not in a position to answer the question because i don't know the information that they know, the folks in the position to make that decision. >> reporter: if confirmed, rod rosenstein would head any probe after jeff sessions recused himself for failing to disclose two meetings he had with the russian ambassador during his confirmation hearing. something senator al franken took issue with. >> it's hard to come to any other conclusion that he just perjured himself. i think he should come before the committee and explain this.