The bizarre sequence of leaks surrounding the fate of deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein on Monday morning raised a series of questions about whether President Donald Trump actually planned to fire the man overseeing special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
Sources tell Vanity Fair’s Gabe Sherman that Trump over the weekend floated the possibility of firing Rosenstein as a way to knock the scandal swirling around Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh out of the headlines.
“The strategy was to try and do something really big,” explained one source to Sherman.
Rosenstein still has a job for now, but Trump is scheduled to speak with his embattled deputy AG on Thursday — the same day that Kavanaugh accuser Christine Blasey Ford is set to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Although Sherman doesn’t know if Trump actually was the person who leaked Rosenstein’s intention to resign, he does note that the leak “certainly had the desired effect of driving Kavanaugh out of the news for a few hours.”
Sherman also reports that Trump has been considering cutting bait with Kavanaugh at the advice of allies who fear that watching a Supreme Court nomination go down in flames will crush conservative voters’ turnout this fall — thus potentially giving both the House and Senate to the Democrats, who will initiate impeachment proceedings against him.
“Trump is finally waking up… that it’s the end of his presidency if he loses the Senate,” one source said.
Enjoy this piece?
… then let us make a small request. Like you, we here at Raw Story believe in the power of progressive journalism. Raw Story readers power David Cay Johnston’s DCReport, which we've expanded to keep watch in Washington. We’ve exposed billionaire tax evasion and uncovered White House efforts to poison our water. We’ve revealed financial scams that prey on veterans, and legal efforts to harm workers exploited by abusive bosses. And unlike other news outlets, we’ve decided to make our original content free. But we need your support to do what we do.
Raw Story is independent. You won’t find mainstream media bias here. Unhinged from billionaires and corporate overlords, we fight to ensure no one is forgotten.
We need your support to deepen our investigative reporting. Every reader contribution, whatever the amount, makes a tremendous difference. Invest with us in the future. Make a one-time contribution to Raw Story Investigates, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you. Click to donate by check.
Enjoy this piece?
… then let us make a small request. Like you, we here at Raw Story believe in the power of progressive journalism — and we’re investing in investigative reporting as other publications give it the ax. Raw Story readers power David Cay Johnston’s DCReport, which we've expanded to keep watch in Washington. We’ve exposed billionaire tax evasion and uncovered White House efforts to poison our water. We’ve revealed financial scams that prey on veterans, and efforts to harm workers exploited by abusive bosses. We need your support to do what we do.
Raw Story is independent. You won’t find mainstream media bias here. Unhinged from corporate overlords, we fight to ensure no one is forgotten.
We need your support to keep producing quality journalism and deepen our investigative reporting. Every reader contribution, whatever the amount, makes a tremendous difference. Invest with us in the future. Make a one-time contribution to Raw Story Investigates, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you.
Report typos and corrections to:
[email protected].