Rod Rosenstein Begged Trump To Keep His Job After Report Saying He Suggested Wearing A Wire

A new report reveals Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein practically pleaded President Donald Trump to let him stay on as a member of the Justice Department and as a central figure in special counsel Robert Mueller‘s investigation into Russian interference in 2016.

According to The Washington Post, Rosenstein begged Trump to allow him to stay in the administration after a series of reports made revelations about the Justice Department’s second-ranking official that led to speculation the president would soon fire Rosenstein.

The Post reports that Rosenstein even once became “teary-eyed” prior to a call in a meeting with Trump’s former chief of staff John Kelly. This call followed a damning New York Times report claiming that in the days after Trump fired FBI Director James Comey in May 2017, Rosenstein had suggested wearing a wire in order to surreptitiously tape the president. The Times report was published last September and also alleged the deputy attorney general had invoked the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office.

Now, the Post claims Rosenstein not only denied the Times report but also desperately sought to convince Trump that he was on his side. The Post also said the deputy attorney general blamed then-FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe for the Times article and told the president he would ensure that Mueller’s probe treated Trump fairly.

“I give the investigation credibility,” Rosenstein stated of Mueller’s inquiry. “I can land the plane.”

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The Post also alleges Rosenstein frequently had to “mollify an often angry Trump,” something other members of the administration have been rumored to have done at some point in their interactions with the president.

“The only commitment I made to President Trump about the Russia investigation is the same commitment I made to the Congress: so long as I was in charge, it would be conducted appropriately and as expeditiously as possible. Everyone who actually participated in the investigation knows that,: Rosenstein said in a statement to the newspaper, in which he added his relationship with Trump “is not one-dimensional.”

The newspaper also says Rosenstein repeatedly told the president he was in no way a “target” of the special counsel’s and that he also agreed with Trump on several occasions that Mueller’s team was treating him unfairly over the course of the Russia probe.

Rosenstein also reportedly blasted Barack Obama‘s administration for not publicizing the “full story” regarding Russian meddling in 2016 and quoted Trump as part of a comment on the rule of law.

The Post also revealed Rosenstein not only feared being fired by Trump, but of learning of his dismissal from the White House via Twitter, a tool the president often uses to make major announcements.