Sessions Told White House Firing Rosenstein Could Prompt Him To Resign

WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 14:  U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions testifies during a hearing before the House Judiciary Committee November 14, 2017 in Washington, DC. Sessions is expected to face questions from lawmakers again on whether he had contacts with Russians during the presidential campaign last year.  (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 14: U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions testifies during a hearing before the House Judiciary Committee November 14, 2017 in Washington, DC. Sessions is expected to face questions from lawm... WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 14: U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions testifies during a hearing before the House Judiciary Committee November 14, 2017 in Washington, DC. Sessions is expected to face questions from lawmakers again on whether he had contacts with Russians during the presidential campaign last year. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) MORE LESS
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

Attorney General Jeff Sessions told White House Counsel Don McGahn last weekend that he would consider resigning if President Donald Trump fires Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, the Washington Post reported Friday evening, citing sources familiar with the conversation.

Sessions’ call with McGahn came at the height of Trump’s rage over the FBI raid on his longtime lawyer Michael Cohen. Sessions called McGahn not to threaten his resignation, but to inquire about a meeting between Trump and Rosenstein, according to the Washington Post. Sessions was relieved that the meeting was not contentious and said that Trump firing Rosenstein would force him to consider leaving as well, per the Washington Post.

Rosenstein reportedly told Trump in that meeting that he was not the target of special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe or the Cohen investigation, prompting Trump’s anger with Rosenstein to cool off.

Read the Washington Post’s full report here.

Latest Livewire

Notable Replies

  1. Rosenstein reportedly told Trump in that meeting that he was not the target of special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe or the Cohen investigation, prompting Trump’s anger with Rosenstein to cool off.

    I think Rosenstein told a big fat lie. Heh.

  2. And IQ45 really got upset then. He began to worry it wasn’t about HIM.

  3. Of course, Rosenstein never told Trump that two of his sons, his daughter, his son-in-law, his wife, Barron’s hamster, and the Pence’s Russian handler weren’t “targets” though, did he?

  4. Idle threats from Lyin’ Jeff Sessions. He’ll never resign; he has far too much work ahead of him in his crusade to incarcerate and terrorize as many black people (and other minorities) as possible. His life’s mission is to drag the nation back to the days of Jim Crow and segregation.

  5. Sessions’ resignation if Rosenstein were fired would be a bonus, not a problem, from Trump’s point of view. Having said that, my impression is that Sessions is holding onto his job tooth and nail. He would certainly find a reason not to resign, even if both Rosenstein AND Mueller were fired. This is why he only threatened to resign after it became clear that the heat was temporarily off of Rosenstein.

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

73 more replies

Participants

Avatar for playitagainrowlf Avatar for littlegirlblue Avatar for jjwhack Avatar for clunkertruck Avatar for squirreltown Avatar for rollinnolan Avatar for irasdad Avatar for psudawnc Avatar for ralph_vonholst Avatar for lastroth Avatar for leftcoaster Avatar for tribalogical Avatar for thunderclapnewman Avatar for beattycat Avatar for misterneutron Avatar for crooks Avatar for pmaroneyb Avatar for massie Avatar for gusfabriani Avatar for dannydorko Avatar for centralasiaexpat Avatar for metaghost Avatar for ohcomeonnow Avatar for outis

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: