President Donald Trump has been informed by deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein that he is not a target of the special counsel’s investigation, Bloomberg News reports.
SCOOP: Rod Rosenstein told Trump last week that he isn’t a target of any part of Mueller’s investigation.
After the meeting, Trump told some of his closest advisers that it’s not the right time to remove either man.
Story by me and @cstrohm.https://t.co/isqWPTc1at
— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) April 19, 2018
At the same time, Rosenstein’s reassurances to Trump last week may have been based on a technicality.
Trump may not officially be a target, but Mueller hasn’t ruled out making him one at some point in the future, according to a US official with knowledge of the investigation.
— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) April 19, 2018
Rosenstein offered up the information on special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation voluntarily, prompting Trump to tone down his rhetoric that it is time to fire them both. Trump was particularly incensed in recent weeks by an FBI raid on his personal lawyer Michael Cohen’s office. The raid was prompted by information uncovered by Mueller’s probe into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
Trump addressed the prospect of firing Rosenstein and Mueller during a Wednesday press conference in Mar-a-lago saying, “they have been saying I am going to get rid of them for the last three months. Four months, five months. And they are still here.”