Sen. Claire McCaskill says deputy AG Rod Rosenstein knew Comey was going to be removed prior to writing his memo https://t.co/5Zj9QwwPd5
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) May 18, 2017
In the midst of a week that — Sheriff David Clarke’s DHS appointment notwithstanding — just keep getting worse for the president, Donald Trump and his administration find themselves in a pickle. That’s because, according to Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Missouri), Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein knew Trump was going to fire James Comey before he wrote the memo critical of the FBI director. The same exact memo the White House asked him to write, along with Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ own contribution, that Trump later cited as his primary reason for firing Comey.
Questions about the White House’s official story explaining Comey’s dismissal were raised last week when reports of Rosenstein’s irritation began circulating. Yet with his appointment of Robert Mueller as a special prosecutor Wednesday evening, and Thursday’s subsequent closed-door meeting with top senators, it seems the official story may be kaput. Or at least that’s according to Sen. McCaskill who, following the meeting with Rosenstein, told reporters he had “learned Comey would be removed prior to him writing his memo.”
Needless to say a few members of the press couldn’t believe their ears. “Say that again?” asked a man off-camera. A female journalist interjected, “Can you repeat that?” So McCaskill repeated her carefully worded statement, saying Rosenstein “knew that Comey was going to be removed prior to him writing his memo.” Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Illinois), who also attended the Deputy AG’s briefing, confirmed his colleague’s claims, saying Rosenstein “knew the day before” but didn’t feel he was pressured into writing the memo.
Durbin: Rosenstein said he knew the day before he wrote his memo that Comey would be fired (further debunking White House’s initial story) pic.twitter.com/JOc2D6P2YT
— Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) May 18, 2017