© Reuters
Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein
The deputy attorney general, Rod J. Rosenstein, suggested last year that he secretly record President Trump in the White House to expose the chaos consuming the administration, and he discussed recruiting cabinet members to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Mr. Trump from office for being unfit.
Mr. Rosenstein made these suggestions in the spring of 2017 when Mr. Trump's
firing of James B. Comey as F.B.I. director plunged the White House into turmoil. Over the ensuing days, the president
divulged classified intelligence to Russians in the Oval Office, and revelations emerged that Mr. Trump had asked Mr. Comey to
pledge loyalty and
end an investigation into a senior aide.
Mr. Rosenstein was just two weeks into his job. He had begun overseeing the Russia investigation and played a key role in the president's dismissal of Mr. Comey
by writing a memo critical of his handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation. But Mr. Rosenstein was caught off guard when Mr. Trump cited the memo in the firing, and he began telling people that he
feared he had been used.
Mr. Rosenstein made the remarks about secretly recording Mr. Trump and about the 25th Amendment in meetings and conversations with other Justice Department and F.B.I. officials. Several people described the episodes in interviews over the past several months,
insisting on anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. The people were briefed either on the events themselves or on memos written by F.B.I. officials, including Andrew G. McCabe, then the acting bureau director,
that documented Mr. Rosenstein's actions and comments.
None of Mr. Rosenstein's proposals apparently came to fruition. It is not clear how determined he was about seeing them through, though
he did tell Mr. McCabe that he might be able to persuade Attorney General Jeff Sessions and John F. Kelly, then the secretary of homeland security and now the White House chief of staff,
to mount an effort to invoke the 25th Amendment.
Comment: If Rosenstein wanted or needed to wiretap the president, he would have delegated this action to intelligence professionals in some 3-letter agency - not jeopardize his career and reputation and not openly suggest it to others. Rosenstein, as stated above, unequivocally disputes the
Times' account.
The
NYT is again, by false interpretation and unnamed sources, attempting to portray a particular scenario as a factual circumstance that would lead to a particular reaction within the public and the governmental hierarchy. Could the
NYT be the impetus to set a trap for the president? Certainly looks like it. Once again the
NYT tarnishes its reputation as an unbiased and truth-seeking media outlet.
NYT Reporter Adam Goldman doubles down. More from
Mediaite:
In the wake of reports that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein's comments about secretly recording President Donald Trump were made in jest, New York Times reporter Adam Goldman is defending his reporting.
Speaking to CNN's Jake Tapper on Friday, Goldman - one of the two reporters who wrote the Times bombshell - said as far as he was concerned, it was not a flippant remark.
"You know, my understanding of what happened is that this wasn't a flippant remark," Goldman said. "And he was, in fact, very serious. And the circumstances in which it was described to me are different now than what's being put out I guess by the government."
He continued on: "But, you know, it's important that your listeners understand something. That as I was pursuing this story for a very long time, people were reluctant to talk about it, because of the gravity of the story. There was concern that if it got out, that, you know, Rosenstein had wanted to actually, you know, wear a wire, and suggested Andy McCabe, the acting director at the time wear a wire, that Rob might get fired. People were sincerely concerned about this. Not because he made a flip remark. Because of the seriousness surrounding the remark."
The Times reporter also defended publishing the story despite the potential political fallout.
"In this moment, we realize when we write these stories they can become politically toxic, but I felt my job as a reporter and the way I've always conducted myself is I just follow the facts," Goldman told Tapper. "And when I reach a certain comfort level, I publish the story. You know, I think my main concern in this story was just trying to be fair to all of the parties involved."
If it is 'the truth' based on 'the facts', they will never 'be fair to all parties involved'. The author's 'comfort factor' is irrelevant.
See also:
Tinker, traitor, lawyer, lie: NYT claims DAG Rosenstein wanted to secretly record the president
Comment: See also: Iran holds nationwide military parades, tells U.S. to get out of Gulf - cozies up with Turkey
Update: Following a deadly attack on a military parade in southern Iran, the country's foreign minister said that regional sponsors of terrorism and their "US masters" are to be held accountable for such assaults. Update 2: Al-Masdar News further reports: