Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein visits White House amid conflicting reports
Sep 24, 2018, 7:51 AM | Updated: 6:55 pm
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein headed to the White House on Monday amid a flurry of news reports surrounding his employment — or possible lack thereof.
Axios first reported on Monday that Rosenstein verbally resigned to Chief of Staff John Kelly in “anticipation of being fired by President (Donald) Trump.”
Bloomberg News also reported that Rosenstein verbally resigned last week, but that it was not clear whether he was planning to follow through with a formal resignation.
But a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press that Rosenstein was expecting to lose his job. CNN and ABC News also reported that Rosenstein was expected to be fired on Monday.
The conflicting reports came days after The New York Times reported that Rosenstein suggested last year that he secretly record Trump to “expose the chaos consuming the administration” and discussed “recruiting cabinet members to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Mr. Trump from office for being unfit.”
Rosenstein denied the report.
Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement that Rosenstein and Trump would meet on Thursday to “discuss the recent news stories.”
Statement on Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein: pic.twitter.com/yBgAydv9oR
— Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) September 24, 2018
Any termination or resignation would have immediate implications for special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of possible collaboration between Russia and the Trump campaign before the 2016 election. Rosenstein appointed Mueller and oversees his investigation.
Solicitor General Noel Francisco, the highest-ranking Senate confirmed official below Rosenstein in the Justice Department, would take control of the Mueller investigation. A spokesman for Mueller declined to comment.
The reports about Rosenstein add to the turmoil roiling the administration, just six weeks before midterm elections with control of Congress at stake. In addition to dealing with the Mueller investigation, the White House is also struggling to win confirmation of its Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations.
Trump had previously floated the idea firing Rosenstein in April after FBI raids of the office and home of the president’s longtime personal attorney, Michael Cohen, who has since pleaded guilty to several felonies and taken part in interviews with Mueller’s team.
If Rosenstein were to resign instead of being fired, it would allow the White House to use the Vacancies Reform Act to fill his role. The federal provision allows the president to circumvent the existing agency line of succession in most instances. But experts doubt it can be applied when the president creates the vacancy by firing the officeholder.
As of Sunday, Trump said he had not decided what to do about Rosenstein. He angrily asked confidants, both inside and outside the White House, how to respond. He received mixed messages. Some urged him to fire Rosenstein. Others suggested restraint while seeing if the report was incorrect or if it was planted by some adversary.
Congressional Republicans, Democrats and some Trump aides have warned for months that the president shouldn’t fire Rosenstein, saying such a move could lead to impeachment proceedings if the Democrats retake the House in the upcoming midterms.
Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, whose private memos document comments made by Rosenstein, said Monday he was concerned that a Rosenstein departure would put the investigation at risk.
“There is nothing more important to the integrity of law enforcement and the rule of law than protecting the investigation of special counsel Mueller,” McCabe said in a statement. “I sacrificed personally and professionally to help put the investigation on a proper course and subsequently made every effort to protect it.”
Rosenstein appointed Mueller in May of last year after Jeff Sessions, who ordinarily would have overseen the investigation, recused himself because of his close involvement in the Trump campaign.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
