Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein discussed possibly wearing a wire in his conversations with President Donald Trump, and getting cabinet memebers to remove POTUS via the 25th Amendment, according to sources in a New York Times article.
Sources in the story are described as people either briefed on the events, or on memos by FBI officials like former Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe.
Rosenstein was brand new to the job when Trump fired FBI Director James Comey in May 2017. Rosenstein reportedly supported the move, but was surprised when his memo–which argued Comey botched the Clinton email investigation–was used as a public justification. He reportedly worried his reputation was damaged after Democrats accused him of providing a cover story for Comey’s firing, and also felt that the search for the new FBI Director was disorganized.
He talked about wearing a recording device in his conversations with the president, sources said. A person asked if he was serious. He reportedly said yes.
He also allegedly told McCabe that he might be able to convince Attorney General Jeff Sessions and then-Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly to support invoking the 25th Amendment.
Rosenstein denied the allegations in a statement to the Times.
“The New York Times’s story is inaccurate and factually incorrect,” he said. “I will not further comment on a story based on anonymous sources who are obviously biased against the department and are advancing their own personal agenda. But let me be clear about this: Based on my personal dealings with the president, there is no basis to invoke the 25th Amendment.”
A DOJ spokeswoman provided a statement from someone claiming to be there during the wiretapping statement. This individual refused to be named. They said Rosenstein was being sarcastic.
[Image via Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images]
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
