WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 17: Deputy U.S. Attorney General Rod Rosenstein listens during a news conference October 17, 2017 at the Justice Department in Washington, DC. Rosenstein held a news conference to announce that federal grand juries in the Southern District of Mississippi and the District of North Dakota have indicted two Chinese nationals and their North American based traffickers and distributors for separate conspiracies to distribute large quantities of fentanyl and fentanyl analogues and other opiate substances in the U.S. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) U.S. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein delivers remarks on "Justice Department Views on Corporate Accountability" during the The Annual Conference for Compliance and Risk Professionals at the Mayflower Hotel May 21, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein testifies before a congressional House Judiciary Committee hearing on "Oversight of FBI and DOJ Actions Surrounding the 2016 Election," in Washington, DC, on June 28 2018. (Photo by Nicholas Kamm / AFP) (Photo credit should read NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images) Rod Rosenstein, deputy attorney general, listens during a Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing for Brett Kavanaugh, U.S. Supreme Court associate justice nominee for U.S. President Donald Trump, not pictured, in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2018. If confirmed, Kavanaugh would fortify the high court's conservative majority, and spotlight the rightward march of the federal judiciary under Trump and the GOP-controlled Senate. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 07: Deputy U.S. Attorney General nominee Rod Rosenstein is sworn in prior to testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee March 7, 2017 in Washington, DC. During the hearing, Democratic senators pressed Rosenstein to appoint a special prosecutor in an ongoing federal inquiry into Russian influence in the U.S. presidential election. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images) WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 07: (L-R) Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats and National Security Agency Director Adm. Michael Rogers testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill June 7, 2017 in Washington, DC. The intelligence and security officials testified about re-authorization of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which is the law the NSA uses to track emails and phone calls of non-US citizens. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) Solicitor General nominee, Noel Francisco speaks during his Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill, on May 10, 2017 in Washington, DC. WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 30: Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein attends the Religious Liberty Summit at the Department of Justice July 30, 2018 in Washington, DC. Rosenstein has recently been cited by the House Freedom caucus as a potential impeachment target for allegedly not releasing documents requested by members of Congress. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images) U.S. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein attends the investiture ceremony for U.S. District Judge Trevor N. McFadden April 13, 2018 at the U.S. District Court in Washington, DC. President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference at the Lotte New York Palace hotel during the United Nations General Assembly, Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2018, in New York. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) (CNN) — Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein will meet with President Donald Trump Thursday amid mounting questions about his future and what a dramatic Justice Department shake up would mean for special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation. Trump, speaking in New York, said Monday he spoke with Rosenstein earlier in the day and anticipated their meeting at the White House once he returned from the United Nations General Assembly. “I’m meeting with Rod Rosenstein on Thursday when I get back from all of these meetings,” Trump said. “And we’ll be meeting at the White House, and we’ll be determining what’s going on. We want to have transparency, we want to have openness and I look forward to meeting with Rod at that time.” Trump’s remarks capped off a tumultuous morning in Washington when it was, at times, unclear if the deputy attorney general still had his job. The confusion began late last week, when Rosenstein and White House chief of staff John Kelly met at the White House in the hours after The New York Times and others reported that he secretly suggested recording the President and discussed recruiting Cabinet members to remove Trump from office. Rosenstein emphatically denied that he ever sought to record Trump or weighed invoking the 25th Amendment, at first calling the story “inaccurate and factually incorrect.” But Kelly relayed to Rosenstein that a firmer denial was required, resulting in a second statement from the deputy attorney general, sources told CNN. While Trump asked associates in the hours after the story was published if he should “just fire him,” the President was also skeptical because the information was reportedly documented in memoranda written by FBI officials, including former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, whom Trump despises and frequently tells people isn’t trustworthy. Although Trump used to remark often that Rosenstein was no ally of his, their relationship had improved in recent months. Rosenstein’s future was a major topic of conversation among senior White House staff over the weekend, but a person close to the President told CNN he was more focused on the controversy surrounding his Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, over the last 48 hours. Another source said Trump viewed the Rosenstein story with a degree of suspicion, reflecting the suggestion made by Fox News’ Sean Hannity and others that it was a “set-up” meant to provoke him to respond. Trump watched Hannity make that argument on Air Force One on Friday evening and asked people about it afterward. Over the weekend, Republican allies of Trump urged him to hold off on a purge of Justice Department officials until after Kavanaugh’s confirmation. Yet Rosenstein overestimated how angry Trump would be after the Times published its reporting, ultimately leading him to offer his resignation to Kelly, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter. Administration officials told CNN that Rosenstein discussed whether he should step down with both Kelly and White House counsel Don McGahn over the last several days. On Saturday, Rosenstein and Kelly spoke, but the two decided to work out the details on Monday, according to the sources – explaining that Rosenstein wanted to control the timing and the White House wasn’t pressing for it because they were dealing with the Kavanaugh situation over the weekend. Kelly told associates on Monday that Rosenstein had offered to resign Friday and he had accepted. Yet another source familiar with Rosenstein’s thinking told CNN that he expected to be fired by Trump on Monday. Meanwhile, Justice officials began planning for his departure, drafting statements ready to name Solicitor General Noel Francisco acting attorney general for purposes of overseeing Mueller and Matt Whitaker, Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ current chief of staff, as the acting deputy attorney general. Rosenstein – who had a previously scheduled meeting with senior officials at the White House on Monday – met with Kelly beforehand to discuss the confusion over his status. At some point while at the White House, Rosenstein and Trump also had an “extended conversation to discuss the recent news stories” at Rosenstein’s request, according to a statement later issued by the White House. One administration official said that part of the calculation fueling Thursday’s meeting with the President was a concern on the part of White House officials that only the President, not Kelly, has the authority to fire Rosenstein or accept his resignation. ’Slow-motion Saturday Night Massacre’ The flurry of speculation Monday over Rosenstein’s fate prompted a swift reaction on Capitol Hill. California Rep. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said on Twitter that Rosenstein should force Trump to fire him rather than resign. “Rosenstein should continue to do his job, protect the independence of the DOJ, and if the President intends to obstruct justice, force Trump to fire him,” Schiff tweeted. Under no circumstances should Rod Rosenstein resign. This would place the Mueller investigation in even greater jeopardy. Rosenstein should continue to do his job, protect the independence of the DOJ, and if the President intends to obstruct justice, force Trump to fire him.<doc-sep>Trump’s allies may believe the president should oust Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, but they are divided about the timing of the firing and its stated cause. | Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images White House Trumpworld divided on Rosenstein — not whether to fire him, but when The disagreement between his advisers in the West Wing and those on Fox News aren't about whether he should, but about timing and stated justification. Fox News anchor Laura Ingraham, once a top recruit to serve as White House press secretary, was early out of the gate on Friday with urgent advice for the president. “Rod Rosenstein must be fired today,” she tweeted, after The New York Times reported that the deputy attorney general had floated the idea of wearing a wire in the Oval Office and removing the president from office by invoking the 25th Amendment. Ingraham, whose Twitter feed is one of 47 that President Donald Trump follows, tagged his handle in her tweet to make sure he didn’t miss her edict. The “fire Rosenstein” sentiment — one she eventually deleted with no explanation — was publicly shared by Fox News colleagues and Trump pals like Judge Jeanine Pirro, as well as other close allies with the president’s ear, who did not walk back their comments. But Trumpworld is no monolith — despite the perception that Fox News functions as an outside communications shop — and the divisions were on display Friday as differing opinions were blasted out in an effort to influence the president’s thinking after the bombshell story. The varied reactions to the story illustrate the president’s dilemma: The West Wing and Trump’s top outside allies may be united in the belief that the president should fire his deputy attorney general, but they are deeply divided about the timing of the action and what the president’s stated cause for the firing should ultimately be. Later Friday night, Fox News host and Trump adviser Sean Hannity spoke directly to the president on his evening broadcast, giving the opposing view from Ingraham. “I have a message for the president tonight,” he said. “Under zero circumstances should the president fire anybody.” He added: "They're hoping that they can turn this politically into their equivalent of a Friday Night Massacre," a reference to President Richard Nixon's demand in 1973 that his attorney general fire the special prosecutor leading the Watergate investigation. That act that led to a cascade of resignations at the Department of Justice. A senior White House official also backed up Hannity’s more cautious tone by warning against any dramatic action. In an interview, the official called Rosenstein a “straight shooter” and said his denial of the facts outlined by the New York Times was believable. Meanwhile, there was a growing conviction inside the West Wing that the story was planted by leakers on former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe’s team, designed to bait Trump into firing Rosenstein ahead of the midterm elections and then suffer the political consequences. (A spokesman for McCabe has strongly denied leaking any of his memos to the press.) While Trump allies are unanimous in their view that Rosenstein is highly compromised, they expressed concerns that Democrats could seize on Rosenstein’s dismissal to impeach the president. The dissension among the president’s strongest supporters underscored again how they are far from one happy family. The talent at Fox News remain intensely competitive with each other. Meanwhile, their advice, delivered personally to Trump or on-air, is often greeted with eye rolls by White House officials working in the West Wing, who dismiss much of what they say as nothing more than self-interested ploys to gain ratings or sell books. Hannity, according to a source familiar with his thinking, does believe that Trump should fire Rosenstein — eventually. But like other Trump allies, he is telling the president that a better strategy than reacting to a new story is to order Rosenstein to release all materials related to the Hill investigation that prove there is a deep-state opposition to him. Those allies said they expect that Rosenstein would refuse to do so, and that would be a better predicate for his firing than reacting to a report in what Trump likes to call the “failing New York Times.” It was not immediately clear what motivated Hannity’s direct-to-camera plea on Friday night. One close Trump ally noted that Hannity sometimes uses his broadcast to speak directly to the president after the two men, who consult each other often, have had a disagreement on an issue. Meanwhile, the “fire Rosenstein” faction of Trumpworld was equally adamant that the president should take action. “It is clear the president has all the justifications he needs to find a replacement for Rod Rosenstein, and we’ve talked about this almost every day of his presidency,” Matt Schlapp, the pro-Trump president of the Conservative Political Action Conference, said in an interview on Saturday. “I do not think there would be negative political consequences to making staff changes at DOJ, like the deputy.” Schlapp’s wife, Mercedes, works in the White House as a top communications adviser. On Saturday, the White House had yet to issue any official response to the Rosenstein story, and Trump had yet to weigh in on Twitter as the world around him tried to sway his opinion on what to do.<doc-sep>The fate of deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein – the man overseeing the independent investigation into Donald Trump’s alleged collusion with Russia – is up in the air, after it was announced he will meet the president at the White House to discuss his future. After a dramatic morning in Washington, riven with rumours and counter-rumours, Mr Trump confirmed he will speak to Mr Rosenstein on Thursday, when he returns to the capital from New York. That announcement followed a meeting at the White House between the deputy of the attorney general Jeff Sessions, and Mr Trump’s chief of staff John Kelly, at which Mr Rosenstein had expected to fired. From the White House, he spoke to Mr Trump by phone. “I’m going to be meeting Rod Rosenstein when I get back to from all these meetings,” Mr Trump told reporters at the United Nations. “We will be meeting at the White House and we will determine what’s going on. We want to have transparency. We want to have openness, and I look forward to meeting with Rod at that time.” Earlier, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Mr Rosenstein and Mr Trump had an extended conversation, at the deputy attorney general’s request, to discuss the recent news stories. “Because the president is at the UN, they will meet on Thursday when the President returns to Washington DC.” The flurry of events appear to suggest that Mr Rosenstein will remain in his position at least for a few more days. On Monday morning, a succession of reports said he had resigned, that he was planning to resign, and then that he would refuse to resign. “He’s expecting to be fired,” a source told Axios. The day chosen for the meeting may be significant; Thursday is also the day that Mr Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, and one of two women who have accused him of sexual misconduct, will testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee. There has been speculation for months about the future of Mr Rosenstein, who took on oversight of the Mueller probe after Mr Sessions recused himself. There have been suggestions the president wants to remove both men, possibly as a precursor to terminating Mr Mueller’s inquiry itself. ✕ Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein says the Department of Justice won't be intimidated Speculation about Mr Rosenstein’s future grew over the weekend after it was reported by the New York Times he had last year suggested secretly recording the president to demonstrate chaos in the administration and raised the possibility of invoking the 25th Amendment to remove him from office. The Justice Department has said Mr Rosenstein was joking when he talked about taping the president. He also denied the report. “The New York Times’s story is inaccurate and factually incorrect,” he said in a statement. “I will not further comment on a story based on anonymous sources who are obviously biased against the department and are advancing their own personal agenda. But let me be clear about this: based on my personal dealings with the president, there is no basis to invoke the 25th Amendment.” World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire.<doc-sep>
What happened in between was a confusing drama in which buzzy news reports of Rosenstein’s imminent departure set in motion a dash to the White House, an offer to resign, Capitol Hill speculation about Rosenstein’s successor and, finally, a reprieve from an out-of-town president. By the afternoon, Rosenstein was back at his Pennsylvania Avenue office seven blocks away, still employed as the second-in-command at the Justice Department and, for the time being at least, still in charge of the Russia investigation. WASHINGTON — When Rod Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general, headed to the White House on Monday morning, he was ready to resign and convinced — wrongly, it turned out — that President Trump was about to fire him. Top Justice Department aides scrambled to draft a statement about who would succeed him. “We’ll be determining what’s going on,” Trump said Monday afternoon from New York, where he was meeting with foreign leaders at the UN General Assembly. Asked about Rosenstein, Trump said, “We’re going to have a meeting on Thursday when I get back.” Even for an administration famous for chaos and rival factions, Monday’s events offered a remarkable display of the anxiety gripping the Trump administration after a New York Times report Friday said that Rosenstein had considered secretly taping the president and had discussed using the 25th Amendment to remove him from office. Rosenstein called the account “inaccurate.” But it raised more questions about the fate of the deputy attorney general, who has repeatedly clashed with Trump and his supporters on Capitol Hill over the Russia inquiry. Critics called for him to be fired. Allies demanded he stay. This account of the events of the past several days is based on interviews with people close to Rosenstein, White House advisers, Justice Department officials, lawmakers from both parties, and others familiar with the rapidly evolving situation. By Friday evening, concerned about testifying to Congress over the revelations that he discussed wearing a wire to the Oval Office and invoking the constitutional trigger to remove Trump from office, Rosenstein had become convinced that he should resign, according to people close to him. He offered during a late-day visit to the White House to quit, according to one person familiar with the encounter, but John Kelly, the White House chief of staff, demurred. Aides began planning over the weekend for his departure, going in to the Justice Department to determine how to recalibrate in the aftermath of it. Also over the weekend, Rosenstein again told Kelly that he was considering resigning. On Sunday, Rosenstein repeated the assertion in a call with Don McGahn, the White House counsel. McGahn — who was dealing with the emergence of another accusation of sexual assault against Judge Brett Kavanaugh, the president’s Supreme Court nominee — asked Rosenstein to postpone their discussion until Monday. Some White House officials also believed that only the president could legally accept Rosenstein’s resignation, not Kelly, according to two people familiar with internal discussions. By about 9 a.m. Monday, Rosenstein was in his office on the fourth floor of the Justice Department when reporters started calling. Was it true that Rosenstein was planning to resign, they asked. Officials at the Justice Department took the inquiries as evidence that the White House wanted to speed along that outcome. Rosenstein and Ed O’Callaghan, his top deputy, raced out of the building and headed to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., for what they expected to be the final word. Justice Department officials told reporters that Rosenstein expected to be fired upon arriving there. A spokeswoman, Sarah Isgur Flores, began drafting a news release that Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who was on his way back from a weekend in Alabama, would distribute if Rosenstein were fired. At the White House, the deputy attorney general slipped into a side entrance to the West Wing and headed to the White House counsel’s office to meet with McGahn. Rosenstein was emotional; he wanted to leave on amicable terms, not in a manner that would trigger an angry Twitter tirade from Trump. But McGahn, who is set to leave the White House as soon as the Kavanaugh nomination is concluded, reminded Rosenstein of his own short-term status and directed him to talk to Kelly. Two people familiar with the discussions described Kelly as “conflicted” about Rosenstein’s fate, believing that a departure before the midterm elections in November would be bad for the president.