NY Times, McCabe give Trump perfect cover to fire Rosenstein, Sessions thehill.com/opinion/white-…
The greatest irony of all, however, could be how the newspaper that Trump loves to call "the failing New York Times" succeeded in delivering to him what he has long wanted: a clean shot at firing Jeff Sessions and Rod Rosenstein, and then installing a new AG to oversee Mueller.
To make this more bizarre, Trump could rely for all this on the man he publicly called on to be fired and possibly prosecuted - former FBI Acting Director Andrew McCabe.
At least one source has said the comments about secret taping were made in jest. Of course, joking about secretly taping your boss or forcing him from office is not a huge improvement, particularly when you are technically controlling a special counsel's investigation of POTUS.
Even in jest, it fulfills Trump's long narrative of a Justice Department set against him from the outset.
So how could the Times clear the way for Trump to clean house at DOJ and end up with Mueller directly controlled by an AG of his choosing? Simple.
First, based on these reports, Trump could fire Rosenstein for being, at best, insubordinate or, at worst, conspiratorial.
First, based on these reports, Trump could fire Rosenstein for being, at best, insubordinate or, at worst, conspiratorial.
Trump could then put in place the person he hopes would replace Sessions one day, and that replacement would take over supervision of Mueller and his investigation.
Trump could then wait until shortly after the November midterm elections to fire Sessions - as he is widely expected to do anyway - and name his new deputy attorney general as acting AG.
He would then have the attorney general of his choosing to oversee Mueller, on an acting basis and pending confirmation.
Both the attorney general and deputy attorney general are subject to Senate confirmation. The president, however, can appoint an acting attorney general or acting deputy when the Senate is in recess. Trump could use a recess in coordination with the Republican-held Senate.
Even if the Senate flips in the midterms, there will be a lame-duck - and potentially cooperative - Senate from November to January.
Trump also could simply make an appointment as he did when he fired Acting Attorney General Sally Yates after she ordered the Justice Department not to defend his immigration orders.
In the end, with either a continuing or a lame-duck Republican Senate, Trump likely could force out both Rosenstein and Sessions and use his longtime foes - the New York Times and Andrew McCabe - as supporting evidence.
And he could do it before the November election, by citing the Times story and the McCabe memos to prove a now-irreconcilable relationship with Rosenstein.
The failing New York Times" relying on McCabe's "fake memos" could give Trump the perfect "non-obstructive" reason to start the expected firings early. He could then have in place an acting or actual AG who orders the completion of the Russia investigation by a date certain.
Even more striking is that it would be Rosenstein, not Trump, who loses his job over alleged ill-advised, offhand comments.
