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Rod Rosenstein Will Meet With Trump to Discuss His Fate Rod Rosenstein’s Job Is Safe, for Now: Inside His Dramatic Day
(about 3 hours later)
WASHINGTON — President Trump will meet with Rod J. Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general, on Thursday to discuss reports that Mr. Rosenstein talked about invoking the 25th Amendment to remove Mr. Trump from office, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the press secretary, said on Monday. WASHINGTON — When Rod J. 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.
The announcement came just hours after the revelation that Mr. Rosenstein was considering resigning, which set off a flurry of speculation about who would replace him at the Justice Department, where Mr. Rosenstein oversees the Russia investigation. By the afternoon, Mr. Rosenstein was back at his Pennsylvania Avenue office seven blocks from the White House, 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.
Ms. Sanders, in a statement, said that Mr. Rosenstein and Mr. Trump had “an extended conversation” about the reports — including the fact that Mr. Rosenstein had discussed secretly taping the president. She said the two men will meet on Thursday when the president returns to Washington from New York, where he is attending the United Nations General Assembly. What happened in between was a confusing drama in which buzzy news reports of Mr. Rosenstein’s imminent departure set in motion a dash to the White House, an offer to resign, Capitol Hill speculation about Mr. Rosenstein’s successor and, finally, a reprieve from an out-of-town president.
“I spoke with Rod today, and we’ll see what happens,” Mr. Trump told reporters after Ms. Sanders’s announcement. “We’ll be determining what’s going on,” Mr. Trump said Monday afternoon from New York, where he was meeting with foreign leaders at the United Nations General Assembly. Asked about Mr. Rosenstein, Mr. Trump said: “We’re going to have a meeting on Thursday when I get back.”
Over the weekend, Mr. Rosenstein called a White House official and said he was considering quitting, and a person close to the White House said he was resigning. On Monday morning, after again calling John F. Kelly, the White House chief of staff, to discuss the prospect of his resignation, Mr. Rosenstein headed to the White House to meet with Mr. Kelly. Even for an administration famous for chaos and rival factions, Monday’s events offered a remarkable display of the anxiety gripping the administration after a New York Times report on Friday that Mr. Rosenstein had considered secretly taping the president and discussed using the 25th Amendment to remove him from office.
But Mr. Rosenstein later departed the White House, escorted by Mr. Kelly, with his fate at the Justice Department still unclear.
[Read: Rod Rosenstein Suggested Secretly Recording Trump and Discussed 25th Amendment][Read: Rod Rosenstein Suggested Secretly Recording Trump and Discussed 25th Amendment]
A departure by Mr. Rosenstein would likely thrust the administration into further turmoil just weeks before November’s midterm elections. As the top Justice Department official overseeing the investigation by Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel, Mr. Rosenstein had long been the target of Mr. Trump’s bitter grievance about what he calls a politically motivated witch hunt. Mr. Rosenstein called the account “inaccurate.” But it raised fresh questions about the fate of the deputy attorney general, who has repeatedly clashed with Mr. Trump and his supporters on Capitol Hill over the Russia inquiry. Critics called for him to be fired. Allies demanded he stay.
Mr. Rosenstein has been a fierce defender of Mr. Mueller, repeatedly refusing to consider firing him despite accusations by Mr. Trump and his allies that the special counsel is part of a Democratic conspiracy to undermine his presidency. His potential departure prompted immediate questions about whether Mr. Trump would seek next to topple Mr. Mueller, a move he tried to orchestrate last year, only to be talked down by his White House counsel. This account of the events of the past several days is based on interviews with people close to Mr. Rosenstein, White House advisers, Justice Department officials, lawmakers from both parties and others familiar with the rapidly evolving situation.
The turmoil in Washington was heightened by the sense of uncertainty surrounding the specifics of the situation. As reports emerged that Mr. Rosenstein was headed for the White House, Mr. Trump and top aides returned to Trump Tower from meetings at the U.N. to huddle behind closed doors. And Attorney General Jeff Sessions was on a flight back to Washington from Alabama and expected to land early in the afternoon. 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 Mr. Trump from office, Mr. 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 F. Kelly, the White House chief of staff, demurred.
The potential changes at the Justice Department exploded into public view even as Brett Kavanaugh, the president’s nominee to the Supreme Court confronted a second allegation of sexual misconduct, roiling the nomination effort on Capitol Hill and prompting Mr. Trump to staunchly defend him. Aides began planning over the weekend for his departure, coming in to the Justice Department to determine how to recalibrate in the aftermath of his exit.
If Mr. Rosenstein exits, Noel Francisco, the solicitor general, would assume oversight of the Russia investigation, according to a Justice Department official. The acting deputy attorney general would be Matthew G. Whitaker, the chief of staff to Attorney General Jeff Sessions, an unusual move; typically, a top aide to the deputy attorney general would take over the job. Over the weekend, Mr. Rosenstein again told Mr. Kelly that he was considering resigning. On Sunday, Mr. Rosenstein repeated the assertion in a call with Donald F. McGahn II, the White House counsel. Mr. McGahn, who was dealing with the emergence of another accusation of sexual assault against Brett M. Kavanaugh, the president’s Supreme Court nominee, asked Mr. Rosenstein to postpone their discussion until Monday.
Critics have said that Mr. Francisco, a former lawyer for the Jones Day law firm, cannot oversee the Russia investigation without a waiver from the White House because the firm is representing the Trump campaign in the investigation, creating a conflict of interest. Justice Department officials have not addressed the issue of whether a waiver for Mr. Francisco would be needed if Mr. Rosenstein departs. Some White House officials also believed that only the president could legally accept Mr. Rosenstein’s resignation, not Mr. Kelly, according to two people familiar with internal discussions.
It is not known whether Mr. Trump might use the new turmoil at the Justice Department to fire Attorney General Jeff Sessions, a onetime political ally who became the No. 1 target of Mr. Trump’s fury when Mr. Sessions recused himself from overseeing the Russia investigation. By about 9 a.m. on Monday, Mr. Rosenstein was in his office on the fourth floor of the Justice Department when reporters started calling. Was it true that Mr. 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.
Mr. Rosenstein’s departure would end what had been an often toxic relationship between Mr. Rosenstein and the president that at numerous times left Washington on edge about the potentially drastic consequences for the country if Mr. Trump terminated the deputy attorney general. Mr. Rosenstein and Ed O’Callaghan, his top deputy, raced out of the building and headed to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue for what they expected to be the final word. Justice Department officials told reporters that Mr. Rosenstein expected to be fired upon arriving there.
In a Twitter rant in April about what he called the “Fake & Corrupt Russia Investigation,” Mr. Trump accused Mr. Rosenstein of being one of the most conflicted members of the Justice Department, asserting that the deputy attorney general was among those who were seeking evidence of a Trump-led conspiracy. 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 Mr. 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 Mr. McGahn, who had by then been told by Mr. Kelly that Mr. Rosenstein was on his way and wanted to resign.
Mr. Rosenstein was emotional, according to people familiar with his meeting with Mr. McGahn. Mr. Rosenstein wanted to leave on amicable terms, not in a manner that would trigger an angry Twitter tirade from Mr. Trump.
But Mr. McGahn, who is set to leave the White House as soon as the Kavanaugh nomination is concluded, reminded Mr. Rosenstein of his own short-term status and directed him to talk to Mr. Kelly.
Two people familiar with the discussions described Mr. Kelly as “conflicted” about Mr. Rosenstein’s fate, believing that a departure before the midterm elections in November would be bad for the president. At some point, Mr. Rosenstein and Mr. Trump had what the president’s spokeswoman called “an extended conversation” about the Times article. Mr. Trump said the two spoke Monday but did not say when.
The president had already planned to clean house at the Justice Department — but not until after the elections, according to one person who had discussed Mr. Rosenstein with Mr. Trump before last week’s Times article. Monday’s drama about an imminent resignation created an unwanted headache, the person said.
But as Mr. Rosenstein and Mr. Kelly remained behind closed doors, the possibility of Mr. Rosenstein’s departure had already sparked blaring headlines about the implications for the Russia probe and the management of the Justice Department.
“Rod Rosenstein, Deputy Attorney General, Is Considering Resigning,” The Times wrote. CNN and MSNBC broke into their coverage of the confirmation battle over Judge Kavanaugh to report that Mr. Rosenstein was on his way to the White House to resign.
On Capitol Hill, lawmakers were caught off guard. Some legislators from both parties, already wrangling over the Kavanaugh nomination and girding for November’s elections, seemed to wish the matter would simply disappear.
“I hope they can work it out,” said Senator John Cornyn of Texas, the No. 2 Senate Republican. He told reporters that Mr. Rosenstein had done “a good job in a tough position” and, echoing a line senators have repeatedly employed to try to dissuade Mr. Trump from shaking up senior law enforcement, warned that confirming a replacement for Mr. Rosenstein at this point would be “problematic.”
Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine, expressed more consternation, saying on Twitter that she was “concerned” by reports of Mr. Rosenstein’s fate and that he “plays a critical role” overseeing the Russia inquiry.
On his radio show on Monday, the president’s personal lawyer, Jay Sekulow, said he did not know whether Mr. Rosenstein was going to be pushed out. But he used the confusion to call for a pause in the Russia investigation, saying that if Mr. Rosenstein did resign, it “clearly becomes necessary and appropriate” that “there be a step back taken here” and a “time out on this inquiry.”
Word began leaking out of the White House that Mr. Rosenstein had joined a previously scheduled meeting of top administration officials in the West Wing — evidence that he had not resigned or been fired. At the Justice Department, Mr. Sessions returned around the time it became clear that Mr. Rosenstein was not being fired.
Speculation continued until 12:48 p.m., when Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, tweeted that Mr. Rosenstein had requested a conversation with the president.
“Because the President is at the United Nations General Assembly and has a full schedule with leaders from around the world, they will meet on Thursday when the President returns to Washington,” Ms. Sanders said.
Within the hour, Mr. Rosenstein exited the White House, captured by news cameras being escorted to his black SUV by Mr. Kelly. The motorcade swiftly drove back to the Justice Department, where the deputy attorney general went back to his scheduled meetings, including one on white-collar crime, and other law enforcement officials turned back to preparing for Tuesday’s meeting between Mr. Sessions and state attorneys general about tech companies.
The release that Ms. Flores drafted did not go out.
But the fact that Mr. Rosenstein may be on the job for at least another 72 hours is unlikely to be the end of the story. A departure by Mr. Rosenstein this week would thrust the administration into further turmoil just weeks before November’s midterm elections.
As the top Justice Department official overseeing the investigation by Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel, Mr. Rosenstein had long been the target of Mr. Trump’s bitter grievance about what he calls a politically motivated witch hunt. Mr. Rosenstein has repeatedly backed Mr. Mueller.
Though officials have said their relationship had improved recently, the president was said to consider terminating Mr. Rosenstein in summer 2017. More recently, in a Twitter rant in April, Mr. Trump accused Mr. Rosenstein of being one of the most conflicted officials at the Justice Department, asserting without evidence that he was among those seeking proof of a Trump-led conspiracy with Russia’s election interference.
“No Collusion, so they go crazy!” Mr. Trump wrote.“No Collusion, so they go crazy!” Mr. Trump wrote.
After Mr. Trump refused to express confidence in Mr. Rosenstein in May, the deputy attorney general took a swipe back at the president. During a speech in New York City, Mr. Rosenstein alluded to the verbal beating he had taken from Mr. Trump. If Mr. Rosenstein leaves, Noel Francisco, the solicitor general, would assume oversight of the Russia investigation, according to a Justice Department official. Matthew G. Whitaker, chief of staff to Mr. Sessions, would become acting deputy attorney general, an unusual move; typically, a top aide to the deputy attorney general would take over the post.
“The dictionary defines ‘piling on’ as joining other people in criticizing someone, usually in an unfair manner — I also have experience with that,” he joked to the audience. Critics have said that Mr. Francisco cannot oversee the Russia investigation without a waiver from the White House because his former law firm, Jones Day, is representing the Trump campaign in the investigation, creating a conflict of interest. Justice Department officials have not addressed whether a waiver would be needed if Mr. Rosenstein departs.
Throughout the summer, Mr. Trump’s allies on Capitol Hill continued to attack Mr. Rosenstein. In July, 11 House lawmakers filed articles of impeachment against him, accusing Mr. Rosenstein of having conflicts of interest when it comes to the Russia investigation. The impeachment effort, which did not have the support of House Republican leaders, made little progress. Republican lawmakers aligned with Mr. Trump have spent months wrangling over information pertaining to Justice Department investigations. Democratic opponents have said that those increasing demands were meant to corner Mr. Rosenstein and eventually push him to either compromise the integrity of the investigations or to resign.
But it highlighted the frustration the president and some Republicans have with Mr. Rosenstein’s refusal to accede to their demands to provide documents about the Russia inquiry. On Monday, Representative Bob Goodlatte, Republican of Virginia and the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, appeared to validate Mr. Rosenstein’s concerns about being called to testify about the Times article. It was based on interviews over several months with people who were told about Mr. Rosensteins’ comments at the time or who were briefed on memos that documented them, including some written by Andrew G. McCabe, the acting director of the F.B.I. at the time.
Top Republican lawmakers spent months wrangling over information pertaining to open Justice Department investigations. Democratic opponents have said that those increasing demands were meant to corner Mr. Rosenstein and eventually push him to compromise the integrity of the investigations or to resign. Mr. Goodlatte said that he planned to issue a subpoena for Mr. McCabe’s memos as soon as this week. House Republicans close to Mr. Trump had already made one attempt to obtain copies of the memos but were rebuffed by the Justice Department.
Mr. Rosenstein has been locked in those increasingly acrimonious negotiations with Representatives Robert W. Goodlatte of Virginia and Trey Gowdy of South Carolina, who run the committees that conduct oversight of the Justice Department; Representative Devin Nunes of California, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee; and Representatives Mark Meadows of North Carolina and Jim Jordan of Ohio, who lead the House Freedom Caucus — all lawmakers who have close ties to Mr. Trump.
Many of those Republicans have called the Russia investigation into question.
It was Mr. Rosenstein, a 28-year employee of the Justice Department and its No. 2 official, who appointed Mr. Mueller to oversee the investigation last year after it was revealed that Mr. Trump had asked Mr. Comey to quash an inquiry into his former national security adviser.
Mr. Rosenstein himself has overseen Mr. Mueller’s investigation into whether Mr. Trump’s campaign worked with Moscow, and whether the president obstructed justice in the Russia inquiry.
And in April, it was Mr. Rosenstein who personally signed off on the F.B.I. raid on the office and hotel room of Michael D. Cohen, Mr. Trump’s former personal lawyer and longtime confidant, according to government officials. The raids sent the president into a rage in which he complained that the “witch hunt” against him had reached a “whole new level of unfairness.”
The president considered terminating Mr. Rosenstein in summer 2017. In a tweet that June, Mr. Trump complained that he was “being investigated for firing the FBI Director by the man who told me to fire the FBI Director! Witch Hunt.”
Mr. Trump has repeatedly told associates of his frustration with Mr. Rosenstein, according to one official familiar with the conversations, who requested anonymity to discuss personnel matters. The emergence early this year of a memo by congressional Republicans made Mr. Rosenstein’s position even more precarious because it accused him of acting inappropriately when he signed off on the F.B.I.’s request to surveil a former Trump campaign adviser, Carter Page.
The memo described Mr. Rosenstein as one of the senior Justice Department officials who approved an application to extend surveillance of Mr. Page, and it suggested that those applications deliberately avoided mentioning that they were based in part on information in a dossier paid for by Democrats.
But a subsequent memo by Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee undercut those claims, revealing that law enforcement officials had been forthcoming about their sources of the information they cited in seeking permission to surveil Mr. Page.
Conservatives nonetheless seized on the Republican document, which officials at the Justice Department and the F.B.I. said omitted key facts, as grounds for demanding Mr. Rosenstein’s head.
The Tea Party Patriots, a political group, produced a dramatic TV ad calling him “a weak careerist at the Justice Department, protecting liberal Obama holdovers and the ‘deep state’ instead of following the rule of law,” and calling on him to do his job or resign. In April, Mr. Trump lashed out at Mr. Rosenstein for having “signed a FISA warrant,” an apparent reference to Mr. Rosenstein’s role in the surveillance request.
Known as a meticulous lawyer, Mr. Rosenstein began his career at the Justice Department in 1990 as a trial lawyer in the public integrity section of the criminal division in Washington, and rose through the ranks to be nominated in 2005 by President George W. Bush as the United States attorney in Maryland. He held that post for a dozen years, throughout the Obama administration, before being confirmed by the Senate last year as the deputy attorney general.
Within a month, he had been swept into the turmoil surrounding Mr. Comey’s firing when Mr. Trump cited a three-page memo Mr. Rosenstein wrote as a pretext for the sudden dismissal. The memo blamed Mr. Comey’s handling in 2016 of the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server while she was secretary of state.
But Mr. Rosenstein had told lawmakers that he knew that Mr. Comey was to be ousted before he ever sat down to write his memo, and days before, he had spoken with a member of the White House Counsel’s Office about how to handle the matter. Soon after Mr. Comey was fired in May of 2017, Mr. Trump and aides began offering varying explanations, with the president admitting within days that he had made the decision himself as he fumed about the investigation Mr. Comey was leading into his campaign’s ties with Russia.
The day after Mr. Comey’s firing, in an at times tense conversation with Donald F. McGahn II, the White House counsel, Mr. Rosenstein stressed that he did not want to be part of an effort to obfuscate or “massage” the facts about it, according to a person with knowledge of the discussion.
Nearly a week later, The Times reported that Mr. Trump had asked Mr. Comey in February to drop the inquiry into his former national security adviser, Michael T. Flynn, who had misrepresented his communications with Moscow. That suggested that the president was seeking to influence the Russia investigation and raised the specter of obstruction of justice.
The next day, Mr. Rosenstein named Mr. Mueller, a former F.B.I. director, as the special counsel to lead the investigation.