Trump Addresses Rosenstein Controversy, Blames Sessions
On September 21, The New York Times published a damning report alleging that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein suggested removing President Trump from office by invoking the 25th amendment, and floated the idea of secretly recording the president.
The time to fire Rod Rosenstein has not yet come, according to many of President Trump’s Republican allies. Senator Lindsey Graham, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, Chairman of the House Oversight Committee Trey Gowdy, and Secretary of State Michael Pompeo have all — directly or indirectly — warned President Trump against firing Rosenstein, according to Bloomberg.
Is President Trump listening? Today, for the first time ever, Trump addressed the Rosenstein controversy — a “very sad story,” in his words — and hinted at possible firing: “We will make a determination,” he said in an interview with The Geraldo Show on WTAM radio, the Washington Examiner reports.
Apart from hinting at possible leadership change in the Department of Justice, President Trump took aim at one of his favorite targets, Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
According to Trump, Sessions is to blame for the Rosenstein controversy, because he hired him as deputy AG.
“He was hired by Jeff Sessions. I was not involved in that process because, you know, they go out and get their own deputies and the people that work in the department. Jeff Sessions hired him.”
In Trump’s mind, Jeff Sessions appears to have gone from a favorite — an early supporter and ally — to an adversary.
Trump says Sessions is responsible for hiring Rosenstein: "I was not involved" https://t.co/YxmyS2CBff pic.twitter.com/F0Mbc5QXjF
— The Hill (@thehill) September 23, 2018
As the Inquisitr reported, in an August interview with Fox & Friends‘ Ashley Earhardt, President Donald Trump launched a vicious verbal attack at Sessions, criticizing the Attorney General for recusing himself from Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Russian election interference and possible coordination with the Trump campaign.
“What kind of a man is this?!,” President Trump asked the host, before claiming to have given Sessions the job due to what he perceived as loyalty. Sessions, according to Trump, “never took control” of the Justice Department.
In a rare public statement, perhaps further straining the turbulent relationship, Jeff Sessions pushed back against Trump — vowing to leave the Justice Department out of his reach.
With each passing day, the president’s attacks on the attorney general became more aggressive, culminating on September 19 when Trump proclaimed: “I don’t have an attorney general,” according to CNBC.
Now, as Trump distances himself from Rosenstein — while attacking Sessions — he may be readying to fire and replace both.
Such a maneuver could have severe consequences for Robert Mueller’s Russia probe, according to New Republic, and so the Senate would have to react swiftly in the aftermath of such a brash move.
