Trump Claims Rosenstein Assured His Attorneys He’s Not Target Of Mueller Probe

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 31: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, in the Oval Office at the White House on January 31, 2019 in Washington, DC. U.S.-China top trade o... WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 31: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, in the Oval Office at the White House on January 31, 2019 in Washington, DC. U.S.-China top trade officials have finished two days of face-to-face trade talks to end a months-long trade war between the world's two largest economies. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images) MORE LESS

February 1, 2019 9:34 a.m.

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President Trump claimed Thursday that his lawyers were personally assured by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein that the President is not a target of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.

He made the comments during an interview with The New York Times published Thursday evening. Initially, Trump said “Rod” personally told him he wasn’t a target, but then clarified the deputy attorney general had assured his lawyers he wasn’t the focus.

“Rod told me I’m not a target of the investigation. … The lawyers ask him. They say, ‘He’s not a target of the investigation,’” he said, later saying he didn’t know when Rosenstein had communicated that.

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Nicole Lafond (@Nicole_Lafond) is TPM’s deputy editor, based in New York. She has also worked as the special projects editor and as a senior newswriter for TPM. She has a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University and previously covered education in central Illinois.

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imkmu3 says:

February 1, 2019

I’ve never seen an executive’s desk that empty before.
valgalky23 says:

February 1, 2019

Is it just me or is he on a roll today? Something is coming.
drainflake says:

February 1, 2019

imkmu3:

I’ve never seem an executives desk that empty before.

or a head, heart & soul…
haddockbranzini says:

February 1, 2019

valgalky23:

Is it just me or is he on a roll today? Something is coming.

I’ve felt like that for a while now. Yet here we are…
dwward says:

February 1, 2019

define ‘target’?

As I understand it the DOJ regs specifically define ‘target’ and when one is a target of a GJ investigation, they must receive a letter advising them they are a target. If the POTUS cannot be indicted by DOJ policy,he can’t be a ‘target’ of the GJ investigation, right?

So, maybe the subtlety of this comment is just lost on Trump.