[ad_1]
Matt Zapotosky
National Security Journalist Covering the Department of Justice
Devlin Barrett
A journalist specializing in national security and law enforcement
Shortly afterwards, Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein suggested using a wiretap to record the remarks made by President Trump. Andrew McCabe, then acting director of the FBI, approached the office's lead counsel for advice on what he had just heard.
McCabe told the lawyer that Rosenstein wanted to sneak in the president to help determine if Trump had prevented justice from being heard. How, he asked, should the FBI react to this delusional proposition?
The lawyer, James Baker, rejected the idea, according to people close to the episode, who would have described the Washington Post on condition of anonymity. But most importantly, Baker told congressional investigators last week that FBI officials had presented him with the Deputy Attorney General's suggestion, raising serious questions about Rosenstein's contrary claims, officials said.
[McCabe memos say Rosenstein considered secretly recording Trump]
This week, Rosenstein needs to talk with congressional investigators about the 2017 episode, which almost cost him his job after his revelation in newspaper articles last month. An interview with Republican allies closest to the president could once again put the Deputy Attorney General on the spot, especially if these lawmakers leave the interview without being convinced of Rosenstein's testimony and pass on their concerns to the president.
His testimony could also give Trump supporters more ammunition to criticize the special council's investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election, an investigation overseen by Rosenstein. Negotiations were going on Tuesday night on the hour and the parameters of his Thursday interview. Representatives of Baker and the Department of Justice declined to comment.
"Really, we want to give the Deputy Attorney General the opportunity to clarify what has been said and what has not been said," said Mark Meadows (CR), a Trump ally who criticized Rosenstein in the past.
Baker was not at the controversial meeting where Rosenstein had raised the idea of a wiretap. his report to Congress, reported for the first time by Hill and Fox News, reflected what had been reported to him by other FBI officials with direct knowledge of the discussion.
According to Democratic advisers aware of Baker's testimony last week, Baker could not recall which senior FBI-McCabe official or his lawyer Lisa Page, who was attending the Rosenstein meeting – recounted the bulk of what he had been told. One of the assistants stated that even though Baker had described Rosenstein's concern as "very serious", Baker thought that Rosenstein's proposal was "official".
According to a second Democratic assistant, Baker said that the proposal to carry a thread had been rejected by senior officials of the FBI and the Ministry of Justice "in a few days".
McCabe memorized the conversation in a memo, according to which Rosenstein would also have suggested using a constitutional amendment to try to remove Trump from his duties. The former acting director of the FBI told people that Rosenstein had suggested using wiretaps multiple times. McCabe's proposed story on wiretap is corroborated by Page and notes she has kept. Another person at the meeting, however, stated that he had not taken Rosenstein to make a serious suggestion.
James A. Baker, then an FBI lawyer, is photographed at the Law Center of Georgetown University in 2016. (CSPAN)
At the time of the meeting, tensions between Rosenstein and McCabe were high, and according to meeting participants, it was clear that both men were at an end.
Ministry of Justice officials at the meeting expressed concern that McCabe may have to recuse himself from the investigation of Russia, partly because of statements he made at the time. of a congressional hearing after the dismissal of FBI director James B. Comey by Trump in May 2017, according to those present.
A few days earlier, McCabe had told Comey: "I have the utmost respect for his considerable abilities and his integrity. It was the greatest privilege and a great honor in my professional life to work with him. "
[[[[McCabe defends Comey and contradicts the White House on Russia's investigation]
Justice officials were concerned that McCabe's personal feelings towards Comey could be used as a basis for the challenge, especially as few outside the room knew at the time: the FBI had opened a case investigation of the president almost immediately after the dismissal of Comey. with the material said.
Some Justice Department officials feared that McCabe's public comments, combined with the quick decision to investigate the president, might raise the question of whether the FBI was motivated by the anger provoked by Comey's shooting. Open a Trump investigation, according to the newspaper. people familiar with the discussion.
At the meeting, McCabe resisted any suggestion to recuse himself, according to people familiar with the subject.
There was another reason why Rosenstein and McCabe were at a dead end at the time: Rosenstein had written a memo criticizing Comey's handling of Hillary Clinton's e-mail inquiry, and the President had used this memo as justification for dismissing Comey. According to McCabe and other members of the FBI, Comey's shots were considered potentially criminal, and it was possible that Rosenstein allowed it, according to the people involved in the discussions at that time.
A spokeswoman for McCabe said, "Mr. McCabe has no comment on the latest version of the Department's events. "
Trump has repeatedly criticized McCabe in public and privately trusts him. The advisers also warned Trump – apparently with success – that Rosenstein's dismissal, which oversees Robert S. Mueller III's investigation of Russia, could create problems for Republicans. tight races in elections next month, and this could give the special advocate another reason to suspect the president of obstructing justice.
In the Trump administration, however, no one is ever really installed in his job. Just a few weeks ago, Rosenstein went to the White House, expecting to be fired for a New York Times article stating that, according to McCabe's story in his notes, he had proposed to use a wiretap against Trump or oust him by means of a constitutional amendment. He was so convinced that it would soon be postponed that the Department of Justice would prepare a succession plan – but that he would scrap it a few hours later, so that Rosenstein and the President could go on sit face to face and discuss what happened.
Trump later postponed the meeting because controversy surrounded his Supreme Court candidate and Justice officials eventually believed the crisis had passed.
On Air Force One Monday, Rosenstein finally argues to the president that McCabe was wrong to assert that he had already followed a wiretap or discussed the use of a US congressional amendment to remove Trump from office.
After the meeting, Trump stated that he did not plan to remove Rosenstein from his post and that he expected Mueller to treat him "very fairly".
"I did not know Rod before," said the president. "I knew him and I get on very well with him."
[Trump says he expects to be ‘treated very fairly’ in Russia probe, has no plans to fire Rosenstein]
Those who observed together Trump and Rosenstein say that the two men are personally friendly – which is perhaps more than Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions can say. special council probe has triggered a rage at the president not like the others.
"There was a real respect between the two," said a justice ministry official who observed the interactions between Rosenstein and Trump.
Rudolph W. Giuliani, Trump's lawyer, said in an interview with The Post Rosenstein told Trump that his comment on wiretapping was sarcastic and that the President had never believed that the Deputy Attorney General had considered using a constitutional amendment to revoke him. Giuliani said the president saw the deputy attorney general more than him. Sessions – Rosenstein, for example, attended the installation of the new Supreme Court Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh, while Sessions did not do so – and saw no reason to proceed immediately to staff changes. Department.
"I would not want to see such a change before things consolidate with Mueller," said Giuliani.
Rosenstein, a Republican, has demonstrated a remarkable talent for surviving throughout his career. A former federal prosecutor, he was appointed judge in the US Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit in 2007, but his nomination failed for lack of support from the two Democratic senators in Maryland. However, these same senators supported him when he remained the US Attorney for Maryland during Barack Obama's presidency.
James Trusty, who worked with the American law firm Rosenstein, said Rosenstein was not a political brain, but rather impressed senators with his work.
"For Rod, it's not a spell he casts at politicians," said Trusty. "It's just a performance and apolitical."
Karoun Demirjian contributed to this report.
[ad_2]
Source link
