Donald Trump is considering dismissing the special counsel assigned to the Russia investigation, a confidant said on Monday. 
 
 Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy told PBS Newshour that Trump is “considering perhaps terminating” Robert Mueller, the former FBI director who was appointed to run the investigation into Russian influence on the campaign by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein on May 17. 
 
 Asked later if Trump is really considering firing Mueller, Ruddy said: “Yes.” 
 
 A White House official told me that “Chris was speaking for himself and did not speak to the president.” Later on Monday night, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer issued a statement reading, “Mr. Ruddy never spoke to the president regarding this issue. With respect to this subject, only the president or his attorneys are authorized to comment.” 
 
 CNBC’s Washington correspondent tweeted that she had seen Ruddy leaving the West Wing earlier on Monday afternoon; NBC later reported that he was there for a meeting with the president that was postponed. Ruddy told NPR they spoke on Friday. 
 
 Ruddy, a member of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, has often seemed to float trial balloons related to moves Trump is considering making. In February, after having a drink the night before with Trump at Mar-a-Lago, Ruddy criticized White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus on CNN, saying "I think Reince Priebus, good guy, well-intentioned, but he clearly doesn't know how the federal agencies work.” ||||| (CNN) President Donald Trump is considering firing Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein , multiple people familiar with the discussions tell CNN, a move that has gained urgency following the raid of the office of the President's personal lawyer . 
 
 Such an action could potentially further Trump's goal of trying to put greater limits on special counsel Robert Mueller 
 
 This is one of several options -- including going so far as to fire Attorney General Jeff Sessions -- Trump is weighing in the aftermath of the FBI's decision Monday to raid the office of Michael Cohen, the President's personal lawyer and longtime confidant. Officials say if Trump acts, Rosenstein is his most likely target, but it's unclear whether even such a dramatic firing like this would be enough to satisfy the President. 
 
 Trump has long been angry at top Justice Department officials, who he feels have not done enough to protect him from Mueller's ongoing probe. But two sources said the raid could mark a tipping point that would prompt the President to take more aggressive action against the special counsel. 
 
 But some of Trump's legal advisers are telling him they now have a stronger case against Rosenstein. They believe Rosenstein crossed the line in what he can and cannot pursue. And they consider him conflicted since he is a potential witness in the special counsel's investigation because he wrote the memo that justified firing former FBI Director James Comey. The legal advisers also believe they have successfully argued to the American public that the FBI is tainted and think they can make the same case against Rosenstein. 
 
 A senior administration official said the White House has been discussing potential options with key congressional Republican leaders, fearful of "blindsiding them." A person familiar with the conversations says a top congressional Republican advised the White House not to fire Rosenstein. 
 
 Democrats preparing 
 
 Meanwhile, Senate Democrats are preparing for that possibility and huddled Tuesday to talk about what would happen if Trump fired Rosenstein or Sessions. The Democrats discussed immediately calling for document preservation and how to press Republicans to join them. 
 
 There's no guarantee that firing Rosenstein would achieve the President's goal of containing Mueller and his probe. Rosenstein's successor overseeing the special counsel's investigation could follow a similar path. 
 
 Speaking to reporters Tuesday, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders wouldn't say whether Trump has discussed firing Sessions, Mueller or Rosenstein over the last 24 hours. 
 
 "I haven't had any conversations with him on that," she said. But she did not close the door, adding: "I can't speak to it beyond that." 
 
 She said Trump believes he could fire Mueller if he wanted to. 
 
 "He certainly believes he has the power to do so," she said. 
 
 A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment. 
 
 The President's animosity towards Mueller reached its highest point yet on Tuesday, a person familiar with the President's thinking said. One source said Trump views the raid on Cohen, which was executed by US Attorney's office for the Southern District of New York and not Mueller, as a ruse and directly related to the special counsel's investigation. According to the source who is familiar with the President's feelings, Trump believes Mueller is "unregulated," with few checks and balances on his conduct. 
 
 Other sources who have spoken with the President echoed that sentiment, telling CNN that Trump views the raid on Cohen as Mueller aggressively going after him. 
 
 Checking Mueller 
 
 Installing a new deputy attorney general could provide the check on Mueller that Trump is seeking. Sessions recused himself last year from all investigations involving the 2016 election, including the special counsel's probe, a decision that continues to infuriate the President. Sessions' decision left Rosenstein in charge of the Mueller probe. 
 
 The President, who had already shortened his itinerary for a planned trip to South America and had been grumbling to aides that he had to go at all, is staying behind in Washington in part to decide his next steps on potential changes at the Justice Department, according to a source. Sanders said Trump was staying behind to oversee a response to the alleged chemical weapons attack in Syria over the weekend. 
 
 If Trump were to take action against the Justice Department, some associates have advised him that firing Rosenstein could be his most politically palatable move, while others have warned that dismissing Rosenstein could create outrage on Capitol Hill and beyond. 
 
 Sessions remains squarely in the President's crosshairs, as he has for much of Trump's presidency. But White House officials continue arguing against firing him out of fear of a backlash from the Senate and a very uncertain confirmation battle for the next attorney general. Trump, ever the unpredictable president, could always fire Sessions, but a host of Republicans and advisers are urging him not to do it, sources tell CNN. 
 
 Trump ignored questions about the ongoing legal drama Tuesday. But in a meeting Monday evening with military brass meant to focus on his options for attacking Syria, Trump unleashed on the Cohen raid. 
 
 "It's, frankly, a real disgrace," he said without being asked. "It's an attack on our country in a true sense. It's an attack on what we all stand for." 
 
 Trump vs. Sessions 
 
 JUST WATCHED Trump: Jeff Sessions made a terrible mistake Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Trump: Jeff Sessions made a terrible mistake 00:59 
 
 Trump slammed Sessions for his "terrible mistake" in recusing himself. But it was Rosenstein who Trump faulted by name. 
 
 "If you know the person in charge of the investigation, you know about that, Deputy Rosenstein, Rod Rosenstein," Trump said after being asked why he hasn't fired Mueller. 
 
 Cohen is deeply connected to Trump and his entanglement in the FBI raid gets as close to the President's inner circle as possible without involving his family. 
 
 "Cohen is the closest person to Trump that I have ever met who is not family -- beyond Hope Hicks," a former business associate of Trump's said Monday. "Ever since I have been working with Donald Trump, Michael Cohen has been around." 
 
 Trump, according to a source with knowledge of the planning going into the Monday meeting with military brass, was advised not to mention his deliberations over Sessions and Rosenstein beyond expressing general disappointment. But he went off script. 
 
 One way Trump is being told he could fire Rosenstein is by blaming his dismissal on the ongoing disagreement between the Justice Department and House Republicans over document production on an array of issues related to how the FBI obtained a surveillance warrant on former Trump campaign aide Carter Page. 
 
 Earlier this year, House Speaker Paul Ryan sided with House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes in a meeting with Rosenstein and FBI head Christopher Wray over document production, multiple sources with the knowledge of the situation told CNN at the time. 
 
 Top House conservatives have vented their frustration about the process both privately and publicly and Trump responded over the weekend, tweeting that the disagreement is "not looking good" for the Justice Department. 
 
 Lawmakers of the House Judiciary Committee are angrily accusing the Department of Justice of missing the Thursday Deadline for turning over UNREDACTED Documents relating to FISA abuse, FBI, Comey, Lynch, McCabe, Clinton Emails and much more. Slow walking - what is going on? BAD! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 7, 2018 
 
 "Lawmakers of the House Judiciary Committee are angrily accusing the Department of Justice of missing the Thursday Deadline for turning over UNREDACTED Documents relating to FISA abuse, FBI, Comey, Lynch, McCabe, Clinton Emails and much more. Slow walking - what is going on? BAD," he wrote. "What does the Department of Justice and FBI have to hide?" 
 
 The Justice Department named Chicago's top federal prosecutor, US attorney John Lausch, to oversee the FBI's production of documents on Monday, hoping that the change would speed up the process and satisfy the Republican lawmakers. But the issue has yet to be fully resolved and the disagreement has played out in conservative media, primarily Fox News, likely drawing the attention of their most powerful viewer: the President. ||||| poster="http://v.politico.com/images/1155968404/201706/439/1155968404_5474068312001_5474048070001-vs.jpg?pubId=1155968404" true Trump appears to confirm that he's facing obstruction probe The president also appears to attack his deputy attorney general in a tweet. 
 
 President Donald Trump acknowledged on Friday that he is under investigation for firing FBI Director James Comey, and appeared to attack his own deputy attorney general for launching a special counsel probe that has intensified in recent days. 
 
 “I am being investigated for firing the FBI Director by the man who told me to fire the FBI Director! Witch Hunt,” Trump tweeted. 
 
 Story Continued Below 
 
 The president did not immediately clarify the tweet, which likely refers to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, but could also refer to special counsel Robert Mueller, who is overseeing the larger investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election and possible collusion between Trump’s campaign and the Kremlin. 
 
 Rosenstein is overseeing the probe by Mueller, which has expanded to include whether Trump obstructed justice when he fired Comey and allegedly pressured intelligence officials to downplay or undermine the Russia investigation. 
 
 Trump’s unusual Friday post — coming at the end of a work week in which he and his top surrogates have openly questioned the integrity of Mueller’s probe and even floated the notion of firing the respected former George W. Bush-era FBI director — has prompted sharp rebukes from leading Democratic lawmakers, as well as seasoned veterans of past Washington scandals. 
 
 “I’m growing increasingly concerned that the president will attempt to fire not only Robert Mueller, the special counsel investigating possible obstruction of justice, but also Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein who appointed Mueller,” Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the California Democrat and ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said in a statement. 
 
 Feinstein said Trump’s tweets suggest he lacks respect for the rule of law and that they amount to “a blatant violation of the president’s oath of office.” “[I]f the president thinks he can fire Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein and replace him with someone who will shut down the investigation, he’s in for a rude awakening. Even his staunchest supporters will balk at such a blatant effort to subvert the law,” she said. 
 
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 Former Watergate prosecutor Richard Ben-Veniste said the notion Trump would oust both Mueller and Rosenstein was “outrageous” and he likened it to the Saturday Night Massacre of 1973, when President Richard Nixon fired his attorney general and deputy attorney general because both refused to fire Watergate special prosecutor Archibald Cox. 
 
 “We’re at a very serious inflection point in my view where we must consider whether we’ll continue to be a nation of laws,” Ben-Veniste said. “This is not a reality show. This is real. We have not been transported into a carnival game of whack-a-mole where you try to disable this or that independent person who pops up to do the job he or she has been given. It simply cannot square with our Constitution and our system of laws.” 
 
 Trump’s latest tweet Friday morning appeared to be a reference to a memo Rosenstein issued shortly after assuming his position in the DOJ. In the memo, Rosenstein published a blistering assessment of Comey’s performance as FBI director, pointing to his unusual handling of last year’s Hillary Clinton email investigation. But Rosenstein’s memo didn’t explicitly recommend Comey’s firing, and Rosenstein himself later said he wrote the memo after learning Trump already intended to fire Comey. 
 
 Trump himself told NBC News he had already planned to fire the FBI director, citing in part the pressure of the Russia investigation on his White House. 
 
 Rosenstein's memo, though, did strongly suggest that a change in FBI leadership would be beneficial. 
 
 "Although the President has the power to remove an FBI director, the decision should not be taken lightly. I agree with the nearly unanimous opinions of former Department officials," Rosenstein wrote. "The way the Director handled the conclusion of the email investigation was wrong. As a result, the FBI is unlikely to regain public and congressional trust until it has a Director who understands the gravity of the mistakes and pledges never to repeat them. Having refused to admit his errors, the Director cannot be expected to implement the necessary corrective actions.” 
 
 Though Rosenstein himself authorized Mueller’s investigation, he testified last week that Mueller has complete independence to pursue the matter as he sees fit. Some of Trump’s allies have encouraged the president to fire Mueller, but Rosenstein has insisted he is the only one with authority to do so, and that he believes Mueller — widely respected by both parties in Washington — is doing his job properly. 
 
 Immediately after Comey’s ouster, Feinstein called for Rosenstein, too, to recuse himself from the Russia investigation and for a career DOJ official to handle the matter instead. But Rosenstein’s appointment of Mueller appeared to calm nerves on both sides of the aisle. Democrats indicated they were comfortable with Rosenstein overseeing the probe, if only because they trusted Mueller to report any potential interference. 
 
 On Friday, though, the Democratic National Committee called for Rosenstein’s recusal and urged DOJ to bypass other Trump appointees and hand the matter to a career official. 
 
 The Justice Department said on Friday that there are no current plans for recusal. "As the Deputy Attorney General has said numerous times, if there comes a point when he needs to recuse, he will. However, nothing has changed," a spokesman said in a statement. 
 
 Several White House scandal veterans told POLITICO this week that it’s only a matter of time before Rosenstein recuses himself from being the official liaison to the Mueller probe. That move is necessary, they explained, because Rosenstein is likely going to be an integral part of the expanding investigation – the special counsel staff now includes 13 prosecutors plus Mueller, and it intends to keep hiring -- on the obstruction of justice case. 
 
 “He’s going to be an important witness in this case potentially. He’s definitely going to get interviewed,” said Peter Zeidenberg, who served on the DOJ special prosecution team during the George W. Bush-era Valerie Plame Wilson CIA leak investigation and now works as a partner at Arent Fox. 
 
 Reports emerged earlier this week suggesting Mueller’s probe had begun looking at the prospect of obstruction by Trump himself. Trump fired Comey on May 9 while Comey was overseeing the initial Russia investigation. Comey has since testified that Trump had asked him repeatedly to publicly announce he was not under investigation. Comey gave him private assurances that he was not a target of the investigation at that stage. The FBI director during his appearance before the Senate Intelligence Committee said it was on Mueller to make the legal determination on whether to pursue obstruction of justice charges, and now Trump himself acknowledges he’s being investigated by the special counsel. 
 
 This week, Trump surrogates have questioned Mueller’s integrity leading the special counsel probe because of his long-standing friendship with Comey. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich also criticized Mueller for adding several prosecutors to his team who have donated to Democrats. On Thursday, Trump joined the chorus, tweeting the Russia probe was being “led by some very bad and conflicted people!” 
 
 The president’s latest social media missive Friday appears to have turned his ire toward Rosenstein, who he nominated to the second-highest post in the Justice Department earlier this year. Though typically, the attorney general would have the authority to hire or dismiss a special counsel, Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself in March from any decision-making authority over the Russia probe. 
 
 Trump’s Twitter attack comes a day after Rosenstein issued a cryptic statement, urging Americans not to believe news stories that cite undisclosed sources. 
 
 “Americans should exercise caution before accepting as true any stories attributed to anonymous ‘officials,’ particularly when they do not identify the country — let alone the branch or agency of government — with which the alleged sources supposedly are affiliated. Americans should be skeptical about anonymous allegations. The Department of Justice has a long-established policy to neither confirm nor deny such allegations,” the statement read. 
 
 Politically, both Democrats and Republicans in recent days have warned Trump about the consequences if he did pull the trigger and fire the senior current and former DOJ officials who have the reins on the Russia investigation. 
 
 “I think firing Mueller could trigger an impeachment process,” Chris Ruddy, CEO of the conservative publication Newsmax said earlier this week in an interview just hours before visiting senior Trump aides at the White House. “It could be very dangerous.” 
 
 “It might be something from which he might not be able to recover from,” added Ben-Veniste. 
 
 But others aren’t so sure, especially after a presidential campaign that saw Trump survive a series of seemingly fatal missteps that in past election cycles have sunk other White House contenders. “Everyone says it would be a disaster to fire him, but is that right?” said one prominent Washington-based attorney who works with the Trump White House. “Have norms shifted so much that even a ‘massacre’ does not matter?” ||||| CLOSE President Donald Trump Returned to the White House from Camp David on Sunday. He told reporters he's not considering firing special counsel Robert Mueller. (Dec. 17.) AP 
 
 President Trump speaks to reporters on the south lawn of at the White House Sunday after returning from Camp David. Trump says he's not planning to fire special counsel Robert Mueller. (Photo: Andrew Harnik, AP) 
 
 WASHINGTON — President Trump said Sunday he's not planning to fire Special Counsel Robert Mueller — even as Trump lawyers raised objections to Mueller obtaining emails from Trump transition officials in his investigation into whether they colluded with Russian agents. 
 
 Returning from Camp David on Sunday night, Trump told reporters he's not happy with the way the investigation is being handled — and that transition emails were improperly turned over to investigators. 
 
 "Not looking good. It’s not looking good. It’s quite sad to see that. My people were very upset to see that," Trump said. "A lot of lawyers thought that was pretty sad.” 
 
 Trump was responding to a complaint that the General Services Administration had turned over to investigators thousands of pages of emails to and from Trump transition officials. The GSA is responsible for running presidential transitions, and the Trump officials were using government email accounts. 
 
 Trump transition lawyer Kory Langhofer complained to congressional committees that the emails should not have been turned over, but the GSA maintains that they were government records. 
 
 Trump also said he was confident that the emails wouldn't show any evidence that his campaign or transition teams colluded with Russia in the 2016 election. "I can’t imagine there’s anything on them, frankly, because as we said, there’s no collusion." he said. 
 
 Mueller's investigation has resulted in guilty pleas by former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and campaign foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos for lying to the FBI. Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his deputy Rick Gates have been indicted for their activities lobbying for foreign governments, including Ukraine. 
 
 Speaking to reporters on the south lawn of the White House Sunday, Trump also addressed: 
 
 ► Sen. John McCain's health. Trump said he had spoken to the wife of the ailing Arizona senator, who returned to Arizona Sunday to continue receiving treatment for brain cancer. 
 
 "I wish John well. I understand he'll come if we ever needed his vote, which hopefully we won't," Trump said. "He's going through a very tough time, no question about it." 
 
 ► Cuba sanctions. Trump said Cuba continued to violate human rights and would be subject to continuing U.S. sanctions. Sunday is the second anniversary of President Barack Obama's partial lifting of those sanctions. 
 
 “Hopefully everything will normalize with Cuba, but right now, they are not doing the right thing. And when they don’t do the right thing, we’re not going to do the right thing," Trump said. "That’s all there is to it. We have to be strong with Cuba. The Cuban people are incredible people. They support me very strongly. But we’ll get Cuba straightened out.” 
 
 Read or Share this story: https://usat.ly/2BBVant ||||| Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein on Tuesday said he has not seen good cause to fire Robert Mueller, the special counsel investigating Russian election interference. 
 
 Rosenstein clarified at a Senate Appropriations Justice, Science and Related Agencies subcommittee hearing that he, and not Attorney General Jeff Sessions Jefferson (Jeff) Beauregard SessionsBudowsky: Senate must protect Mueller from Barr, President Trump Feinstein grappling with vote on AG nominee Barr Central American women fleeing domestic violence deserve refugee status MORE, has the authority to hire and fire Mueller. 
 
 “Have you seen good cause for firing Mueller?” Sen. Jeanne Shaheen Cynthia (Jeanne) Jeanne ShaheenGOP reasserts NATO support after report on Trump’s wavering Some Senate Dems see Ocasio-Cortez as weak spokeswoman for party The Hill's Morning Report — Trump eyes wall money options as shutdown hits 21 days MORE (D-N.H.) asked Rosenstein. 
 
 “I have not,” he replied. 
 
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 Rosenstein added he is confident Mueller will have sufficient independence in the investigation into the Trump campaign’s potential ties to Russia. 
 
 Sen. Susan Collins Susan Margaret CollinsCentrist efforts to convince Trump to end shutdown falter On The Money: Shutdown Day 26 | Pelosi calls on Trump to delay State of the Union | Cites 'security concerns' | DHS chief says they can handle security | Waters lays out agenda | Senate rejects effort to block Trump on Russia sanctions Senators look for possible way to end shutdown MORE (R-Maine) further pressed him on reports that the administration is considering firing Mueller, asking whether he would if President Trump ordered him to do so. 
 
 “I am not going to follow any orders unless I believe those are lawful and appropriate,” Rosenstein said, explaining that under federal regulations, Mueller can only be fired for good cause and that reason would have to be put in writing. 
 
 Democrats slammed Sessions on Tuesday for canceling plans to testify at the hearing and sending Rosenstein in his place. 
 
 “You are not the witness we were supposed to hear from today,” Sen. Patrick Leahy Patrick Joseph LeahyGOP insiders knock their depictions in new Dick Cheney biopic ‘Vice’ Barr: It would be a crime for president to pardon someone in exchange for their silence Barr says Trump won't be allowed to 'correct' Mueller report MORE (D-Vt.) said. “You are not the witness that was supposed to be behind the table.” ||||| Michael Cohen, U.S. President Donald Trump's personal attorney, leaves a restaurant, Tuesday, April 10, 2018, in New York. FBI agents on Monday raided Cohen's home, hotel room and office, seizing records on topics including a $130,000 payment made to porn actress Stormy Daniels in exchange for her silence... (Associated Press) 
 
 WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump insisted that all was "very calm and calculated" at the White House, even as he vented Wednesday about the Russia probe, complained about Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and served noticed that "nice and new and 'smart'" missiles will be coming down on Syria. 
 
 Trump, who was so incensed by the FBI's raid of his personal attorney's office and hotel room that he's privately pondered firing Rosenstein, let loose on Twitter Wednesday against the deputy attorney general and special counsel Robert Mueller. He said the Russia probe was "headed up by the all Democrat loyalists, or people that worked for Obama. Mueller is most conflicted of all (except Rosenstein who signed FISA & Comey letter). No Collusion, so they go crazy!" 
 
 Trump also tweeted: "No Collusion or Obstruction (other than I fight back), so now they do the Unthinkable, and RAID a lawyers office for information! BAD!" And he insisted the White House was "Very calm and calculated." 
 
 The raid, in which agents seized attorney Michael Cohen's records on topics including a $130,000 payment to a porn actress who alleges she had sex with Trump, left the president more angry than advisers had seen him in weeks, according to five people familiar with the president's views but not authorized to discuss them publicly. 
 
 Nervous White House aides expressed new fears about the president's unpredictability in the face of the Cohen raid, which he viewed as an assault on a longtime defender and a sign that Mueller's probe into potential ties between Russia and the Trump campaign was "going too far." 
 
 House Speaker Paul Ryan, for his part, tried to douse speculation Trump might fire Rosenstein or Mueller, saying: "I have no reason to believe that that's going to happen. I have assurances that it's not." He added that he had been "talking to people in the White House about it." 
 
 Trump has canceled plans to attend the Summit of the Americas over the weekend as well as an overnight visit to Colombia, citing the need to monitor the situation in Syria. 
 
 But the president had been telling confidants for weeks that he was not eager to make the three-day trip, according to two people who have discussed it with him in recent weeks but were not authorized to disclose the private conversations. And privately, Trump said he didn't want to be away from the White House amid developments in the China trade dispute and in the Mueller investigation. 
 
 Trump also expressed confidence in the loyalty displayed by Cohen, his longtime personal and professional fixer, who ascended to one of the most powerful roles at the Trump Organization not filled by a family member. Cohen has steadfastly denied wrongdoing in his $130,000 payment to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels and has publicly defended Trump, but he has confided in associates that he is fearful of being a fall guy, according to a person familiar with his thinking but not authorized to speak publicly about private discussions. 
 
 Cohen has said he took out a personal line of credit on his home to pay Daniels days before the 2016 election and without Trump's knowledge. The raid of his office was overseen by the U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan and based in part on a referral from Mueller. 
 
 Press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders made clear that White House officials have explored Trump's authority to fire Mueller. 
 
 "He certainly believes that he has the power to do so," she said at Tuesday's press briefing. 
 
 Under Justice Department regulations, only Rosenstein, who oversees the Russia investigation, can fire Mueller. 
 
 On Capitol Hill, a bipartisan group of four senators moved to protect Mueller's job. 
 
 Republican Sens. Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Democratic Sens. Chris Coons of Delaware and Cory Booker of New Jersey planned to introduce legislation Wednesday that would give any special counsel a 10-day window in which he or she could seek expedited judicial review of a firing, according to two people familiar with the legislation. They were not authorized to discuss the bill ahead of its release and requested anonymity. 
 
 Trump spent Monday evening calling associates to vent and gauge their reaction to the news. He bitterly complained that the raids were meant to ruin Cohen's life and expressed frustration that it was another front from which to attack his presidency, according to a person familiar with the conversations but not permitted to discuss them publicly. 
 
 Trump also revived his broadsides on Rosenstein as well as Rosenstein's boss, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, whom he belittled to confidants for recusing himself from the investigation and, in turn, delivering him to Mueller. 
 
 The White House insisted Trump was focused on the response to Syria following the country's apparent use of chemical weapons on civilians over the weekend, killing more than 40 people. A military strike would mark Trump's second retaliatory strike against Syrian President Bashar Assad's government at a time when Trump is seeking to reduce the U.S. footprint in Syria. 
 
 The discussions come as Trump's newest national security adviser, John Bolton, stepped into the job this week. He encouraged Trump to skip the trip to South America to manage the Syria strategy. 
 
 Bolton, a seasoned bureaucratic operator, has been expected to put his stamp on the National Security Council staff. NSC spokesman Michael Anton resigned over the weekend, with two people familiar with the situation saying Anton resigned after learning he would be fired. Trump's homeland security adviser, Thomas Bossert, exited Tuesday. Bossert had overseen the administration's response to the 2017 hurricane season and was credited by his colleagues for leading the administration's efforts to bolster cybersecurity resiliency across government and private industry. 
 
 There is growing concern in Trump's orbit that the turmoil will only continue following the release next week of former FBI director James Comey's book, which promises to reveal new details about his conversations with the president and the Russia probe. An administration official said the White House would largely defer to outside surrogates to push back on Comey, but there was concern as to how the director's interviews could rile up the president. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Lemire reported from New York City. Associated Press writers Mary Clare Jalonick and Jill Colvin contributed to this report.
– Christopher Ruddy is seen as a confidante of President Trump, so his assertion on PBS on Monday that Trump might fire special prosecutor Robert Mueller is drawing a lot of attention. It wasn't exactly a firm statement, with the Newsmax CEO saying that Trump is "considering perhaps terminating" Mueller, who is looking into ties between the Trump campaign and Russia. He added: "I think he's weighing that option." That prompted a quick response from White House press secretary Sean Spicer, who said that Ruddy "never spoke to the president regarding this issue" and that "only the president or his attorneys are authorized to comment.” Related coverage: Who's Ruddy? The Los Angeles Times has a quick bio of the longtime Trump pal that explains why he's generally a reliable gauge on what Trump is thinking. Trial balloon? That Atlantic speculates that Ruddy could be deliberately floating the idea to see how it flies, noting that he's done so previously with, among other things, statements in regard to Reince Priebus. 'Explosive': The New York Times says firing Mueller would be "politically explosive" given Trump's recent firing of James Comey. It might mean that he'd have to fire deputy AG Rod Rosenstein, too, the man who appointed Mueller in the first place. A big no: Rosenstein himself testified before a Senate panel on Tuesday and was asked a simple question by Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen: “Have you seen good cause for firing Mueller?” He had a simple answer, per the Hill: “I have not." Conservative push: Newt Gingrich initially praised Mueller as a "superb choice," but on Monday, he tweeted: "Republicans are delusional if they think the special counsel is going to be fair. Look who he is hiring.check fec reports. Time to rethink." Fellow conservative Ann Coulter joined the push, tweeting, "Now that we know TRUMP IS NOT UNDER INVESTIGATION, Sessions should take it back & fire Mueller." Big hire: Gingrich's remark about Mueller's hires may be in reference to high-powered criminal specialist Michael Dreeben joining the team. A post at Lawfare on Friday called the hire "the worst thing that happened to Donald Trump this week," because it signaled an aggressive investigation. Overplayed? A post at Axios suggests all this will amount to nothing. "Ordering the firing of Mueller really does seem unlikely," writes Mike Allen. "The near-universal advice Trump will be getting from his White House team—and from legal advisors close to the administration—will be that it's a catastrophic idea to get rid of Mueller." Before Ruddy: On ABC Sunday, Trump attorney Jay Sekulow perhaps got all this started by refusing to rule out the possibility of Trump firing Mueller. "I'm not going to speculate on what he will, or will not, do," said Sekulow, per Politico. He added that he "can't imagine" it would happen, however.