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| Rod Rosenstein, deputy attorney general, reportedly leaving post | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein was headed to the White House Monday morning and he expects to be fired, the Associated Press reported. Separately, Axios reported that Rosenstein planned to resign his post, citing unnamed sources. | |
| The deputy attorney general was overseeing the investigation of Russian election interference and links between the Donald Trump campaign and Moscow. | The deputy attorney general was overseeing the investigation of Russian election interference and links between the Donald Trump campaign and Moscow. |
| The New York Times reported last week that Rosenstein had discussed secretly recording the president and invoking the 25th amendment to remove Trump from office. Rosenstein said the report was “inaccurate”. | The New York Times reported last week that Rosenstein had discussed secretly recording the president and invoking the 25th amendment to remove Trump from office. Rosenstein said the report was “inaccurate”. |
| Rosenstein’s prospective departure throws into question the oversight of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. Under the Department of Justice succession statute, solicitor general Noel Francisco would be left in charge of supervising the Mueller investigation, University of Texas law school professor Steve Vladeck has written. | |
| But Trump also might be able to appoint a temporary replacement for Rosenstein on an “acting” basis for up to 210 days, Vladeck writes – that person would need to have previously passed Senate confirmation for another post or be a senior official from a relevant department. | |
| Rosenstein was overseeing Mueller’s work after the attorney general, Jeff Sessions, recused himself due to his contacts with Russian officials when he was part of the Trump campaign. Trump has repeatedly attacked Sessions for that move. | Rosenstein was overseeing Mueller’s work after the attorney general, Jeff Sessions, recused himself due to his contacts with Russian officials when he was part of the Trump campaign. Trump has repeatedly attacked Sessions for that move. |
| In overseeing the special counsel, Rosenstein was responsible for approving major new directions in the investigation, for signing off on the budget and for meeting regularly with Mueller to assess the investigation’s progress. | |
| For more than a year, Trump has railed against the Russia investigation, calling it a “witch hunt” and accusing the prosecutors involved – many of whom, like Rosenstein and Mueller, are Republicans – of harboring ulterior partisan motives. | |
| Trump’s relationship with Rosenstein has been vexed. The president has tweeted that Rosenstein is “weak,” but in August Trump also said the relationship was “fantastic”. | |
| Frustration moved in both directions, with Rosenstein reportedly growing “angry” at Trump in May 2017, after Trump used a memo written by Rosenstein to justify the firing of former FBI director James Comey. It was in the sensitive aftermath of that firing that Rosenstein suggested recording the president, the New York Times reported. | |
| One source told the Times that Rosenstein had suggested recording the president “sarcastically,” while others said he was serious. | |
| The 25th amendment, which was ratified after the assassination of John F Kennedy, provides for various paths of presidential succession, including in case of the president being deemed “unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office” by the vice-president and a majority of cabinet officers. | |
| Donald Trump | Donald Trump |
| Trump administration | Trump administration |
| Trump-Russia investigation | Trump-Russia investigation |
| Robert Mueller | Robert Mueller |
| US politics | US politics |
| Republicans | Republicans |
| news | news |
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