The Washington Post via Getty
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein headed to the White House on Monday morning expecting to be fired, a source familiar with the matter told The Daily Beast. Rosenstein “has not submitted a resignation and is still the Deputy Attorney General,” that source said. Rosenstein attended two meetings at the White House, a source familiar with the matter told The Daily Beast. In the second meeting, he filled in for Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who is traveling. Trump is currently in New York for the UN General Assembly. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Monday that Trump and Rosenstein will meet on Thursday after the president returns from New York. The announcement has temporarily quelled speculation that Rosenstein will imminently leave the Justice Department. Solicitor General Noel Francisco is next in the DOJ’s line of succession to oversee special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election, but there is widespread speculation that he would recuse himself because his old law firm represents President Donald Trump’s campaign. Francisco has recused from multiple matters before the Supreme Court which that firm, Jones Day, is litigating.
—Betsy Woodruff