Trump says White House ‘calm,’ vents about Russia
He warns of missile attack in Syria, cancels trip to Peru.
WASHINGTON — 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 notice that “nice and new and ‘smart’ ” missiles will be coming down on Syria.
Tr u mp, 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 W hite 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 poten- tial 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 autho- rized 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 long- time personal and profes- sional fixer, who ascended to one of the most powerful roles at the Trump Organi- zation not filled by a family member. Cohen has steadfastly denied wrongdoing in his $130,000 payment to adult-film actress Stormy Dan- iels 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 elec- tion 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 Huck- abee 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.