Donald Trump
© Mike Segar / Reuters
President Donald Trump has promised to rid the US Justice Department of "lingering stench" and clean it of really "bad people," following claims that DAG Rod Rosenstein wanted to secretly record him and had discussed impeachment.

"Just look at what is being exposed in our Justice Department... We have great people in the Department of Justice. ... But you've got some real bad ones. You've seen what's happened at the FBI. They're all gone," Trump told a packed rally for Republican Senate candidate Josh Hawley in Missouri. "But there's a lingering stench and we're going to get rid of that, too."

Trump's comments apparently came in response to an explosive New York Times report, which claimed that Deputy Attorney-General Rod Rosenstein had suggested secretly recording the president to potentially invoke the 25th Amendment and remove him from office.

Rosenstein, however, denied the allegations, claiming that he will not comment on an article based on anonymous sources. "Based on my personal dealings with the president, there is no basis to invoke the 25th Amendment," he added.

Trump was at some odds with the deputy attorney general ever since he appointed special counsel Robert Mueller to lead the Russia investigation. While Rosenstein denied the NYT reports, Trump supporters called for his dismissal, while others warned that such a move might be viewed as obstruction of justice.


Just ahead of his speech at the Missouri rally, Trump announced a pause of his Monday order to declassify materials related to the Russian investigation. The materials include parts of the Carter Paige FISA warrant application, text messages from five officials, and some FBI interview reports. The decision to hit the brakes, Trump said, was due to concerns from both the Justice Department and "key allies".