Trump, Rosenstein to meet Thursday
Deputy AG met Monday with chief of staff Kelly
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein are expected to meet Thursday, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Monday, after The New York Times reported last week that Rosenstein had talked in 2017 of possibly invoking the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office.
Rosenstein had discussed his possible resignation in a meeting Saturday with White House chief of staff John Kelly, according to a source familiar with the matter. The source, who is not authorized to comment publicly, said Rosenstein attended another meeting with Kelly at the White House on Monday and had expected to be fired. But he later returned to the Department of Justice, and it did not appear his status had changed.
Sanders said Trump, who is in New York for the meeting of the United Nations General Assembly, had an “extended conversation to discuss the recent news stories.”
“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, D.C.,” she said.
The Times reported that Rosenstein suggested invoking the 25th Amendment against Trump in spring 2017, at a time when the White House had been plunged into chaos after the firing of FBI Director James Comey. The Times had also reported that Rosenstein had suggested wearing a wire while meeting with Trump.
Rosenstein said the New York Times story was not accurate.
Although some Trump allies demanded Rosenstein’s removal, his dismissal would generate condemnation from lawmakers who believe the president’s real goal is to fire Russia special counsel Robert Mueller.
Trump said over the weekend that he was awaiting “facts” before deciding what to do with Rosenstein.
“I haven’t gotten all the facts, but certainly it’s being looked at in terms of what took place – if anything took place,” Trump told radio talk show host Geraldo Rivera. “And I’ll make a determination sometime later, but I don’t have the facts.”