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NOTShortly after a meeting in 2017 during which Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein would have discussed the wearing of a wire to secretly record conversations with President Trump, two senior officials of the meeting, the Deputy Director FBI's Andrew McCabe, and Lisa Page's office attorney, went to the office of a third FBI official, Attorney General James Baker.
They told Baker what Rosenstein said, according to his recent testimony to investigators in the House. And Baker took the news very seriously.
After Rosenstein's comments were reported in the New York Times last month, Rosenstein made it known by intermediaries that he did not really think it, that he was talking sarcastically. But that 's not how the top FBI officials took it at the time.
"What struck me the most, is the serious look that Baker has on the face when he described it," said a source close to the investigation at his interview. "He was transmitting that they [McCabe and Page] taken seriously, and because they took it seriously, he took it seriously. "
McCabe, Page, and Baker were talking about [secretly recording the president] as a real thing and discuss it as a serious problem, "said another source close to the investigation.
The Times reported that at a meeting held in the spring of 2017 amid the turmoil caused by the dismissal of the FBI director by President James Comey by Trump, Rosenstein "had raised the idea of wearing a camera. Recording, as he said, to secretly record the president when he visited the White House. "
According to the Times, "One participant asked if Mr. Rosenstein was serious and he responded with animation that he was."
According to the Times, Rosenstein also suggested that in addition to the registration of the president, other officials may do so as well. According to the newspaper, Rosenstein noted that White House officials had not asked him to leave his mobile phone during his visit, "implying that it would be easy to secretly record Mr. Trump".
Some Hill Republicans speculated that McCabe was behind the story, about the fact that he was trying to put Rosenstein in place for a fall. The investigators wondered if McCabe and Page were telling the truth to Baker. But at the very least, Baker's interview shows that Rosenstein's suggestion was taken seriously.
The Times also reported that Rosenstein "was discussing the hiring of Cabinet members to invoke the 25th Amendment in order to remove Mr. Trump from his duties for unfitness". One of the sources familiar with the investigation said that Baker, in his interview with the House, "indicated that he was firmly convinced that Rosenstein was coordinating his activities with two people in the administration who were considering invoking the 25 ".
Rosenstein's revelations intensified a long debate over whether Trump should be removed from the Deputy Attorney General. The debate was not so much about what should or should not happen in Rosenstein, but about the effect of a referral on the work of Trump-Russia's special advocate, Robert Mueller. Attorney General Jeff Sessions being challenged from the investigation conducted in Russia, Rosenstein oversees Mueller's office.
Democrats and some Republicans have warned Trump against dismissing Rosenstein. "This story should not be used as a pretext for the corrupt purpose of the dismissal of Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein in order to install a manager who will allow the President to interfere in the investigation of the special council," said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., shortly after The Times story.
No firing seems imminent. Rosenstein flew with President Trump on Air Force One in Florida on Monday. The two men had a 45-minute discussion. After the trip, Trump was asked about his intention to fire Rosenstein. "No, I do not know," answered the president.
Trump's treatment of Rosenstein baffled some Republicans. Here is a senior administration official who was at least pondering the possibility of encircling the president and attempting a strategy never used to remove him from office. Some might assume that Trump would fire such an official immediately and escort him out of the building.
But there are reasons why Trump has not acted, starting with the elections next month. "Firstly, it is the strategic moment for the mid-term reviews," said a third source close to the survey. "And secondly, there are people in the administration who tell the president that Rosenstein is a good guy and who is part of the team, these are people Trump discusses regularly with."
As for Baker, he left the FBI after a controversy in May. And of course, McCabe and Page have left the office in the midst of controversy as well. They are just starting to tell their stories in Congress. And in the case of Rosenstein and the discussion, there is still much to learn.
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