Rosenstein says he knew Trump was going to fire Comey as he prepared memo

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein knew President Donald Trump was going to fire FBI chief James Comey before he completed a memo outlining his own concerns about the former FBI leader, according to a statement obtained by NBC News.

"I informed the senior attorney that the president was going to remove Director Comey, (and) that I was writing a memorandum to the attorney general summarizing my own concerns," Rosenstein said in the statement, referring to a Justice Department attorney.

The statement was prepared for delivery to lawmakers.

(Reporting by Timothy Ahmann; Editing by Howard Goller)