Rosenstein told Trump he is not a target of Mueller probe: report
Rosenstein told Trump he is not a target of Mueller probe: report
By Max Greenwood - 04/19/18 04:01 PM EDT
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein assured President Trump last week that he is not a target of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation, Bloomberg News reported Thursday.
The revelation came as Rosenstein met with Trump at the White House. Rosenstein was the one to raise the issue, according to Bloomberg.
That assurance appeared to quell the possibility that Trump could move to dismiss either Rosenstein or Mueller. The president told advisers after the meeting that he did not feel like it was the right time to fire either man.
Rosenstein's assurance to Trump came after The Washington Post reported that Mueller told Trump's attorneys last month the president is not a criminal target of his investigation.
While Rosenstein told Trump that he was not currently a target of any part of Mueller's investigation, one official told Bloomberg that Mueller could eventually make Trump one.
Trump has long bristled at the special counsel investigation into possible collusion between his campaign and Russia. But he has stepped up his attacks on Rosenstein and Mueller in recent weeks, especially after FBI agents raided the home and office of his personal attorney Michael Cohen.
That FBI raid was carried out after federal prosecutors in Manhattan obtained a search warrant. While the raid was not directly ordered by Mueller, the warrant was obtained, in part, because of a referral from the special counsel.
Trump's attacks on Mueller and Rosenstein have reignited speculation that he could soon move to dismiss one or both of the men.
The president signaled on Wednesday that wanted to get the investigation over with as soon as possible, and reminded reporters that Rosenstein and Mueller are "still here" despite near-constant speculation he might fire them.
"They’ve been saying I’m going to get rid of them for the last three months, four months, five months," Trump told reporters. "And they’re still here. We want to get the investigation over with, done with, put it behind us. And we have to get back to business."
http://thehill.com/homenews/administ...r-probe-report
