Current FBI agents and former intel officials are breathing a sigh of relief that Rosenstein still has his job after a whirlwind morning in Washington
- Justice Department veterans and current and former intelligence officials expressed relief that deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein had not resigned or been fired following a wild Monday morning of conflicting news reports.
- If Rosenstein steps down, said one current FBI agent who requested anonymity to speak about internal matters, "[Robert] Mueller's finished."
- But another current FBI agent emphasized that the special counsel Mueller has taken steps to ensure relevant divisions of the DOJ and FBI are briefed on investigative matters that fall under their purview.
- "If the DAG is fired or resigned, that's a blow to the public facing aspect of the investigation, but it in no way means the entire thing would be shut down," they said. "The president would have to fire everybody at the FBI and DOJ for that to happen."
Washington flew into a frenzy on Monday morning following initial reports that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein expected to leave his job. But hours later, he was attending a regularly scheduled meeting at the White House.
Rosenstein's job was thrown into question after The New York Times reported on Friday that he discussed wearing a wire around the president and advocated for invoking the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office. Rosenstein vehemently denied the report's allegations, and subsequent media reports also called some of the details into question.
On Monday, the White House and the Justice Department offered differing accounts following conflicting reports about Rosenstein's highly publicized trip to the White House.
White House officials told the Washington Post that Rosenstein offered to resign in the wake of The Times story.
But Justice Department officials told the Post that while Rosenstein went to the White House on Monday expecting to be fired, he did not offer to resign, despite reportedly weighing the option over the weekend following The Times' report.
White House Press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Rosenstein had an "extended conversation" with the president about the news on Monday and that the two would meet again on Thursday.
DOJ veterans and current and former intelligence officials expressed relief in the aftermath of a wild morning that the deputy attorney general remains in his position.
'He is the only person, the one buffer, protecting Mueller'
If Rosenstein steps down, said one current FBI agent who requested anonymity to speak about internal matters, "Mueller's finished."
They were referring to the special counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating Russia's interference in the 2016 election and whether the Trump campaign colluded with Moscow to sway the race in his favor. Rosenstein currently oversees the Russia investigation.
Bob Deitz, a former top lawyer at the CIA and the National Security Agency, said one of the biggest questions that would arise from a potential Rosenstein ouster would be, "if not he, who?"
"Someone else would become deputy attorney general, and if it isn't someone like Rod - who has enormous integrity and is smart and honest - then who?" Deitz said. "And when someone great leaves, all it does is open up the possibility that some hack will be appointed in their place."
Following the mix-up Monday over whether or not Rosenstein would resign or be fired, Vanity Fair reported that Trump, allegedly looking to shift the news cycle away from his embattled Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, decided that firing Rosenstein could take some of the heat off Kavanaugh.
"The strategy was to try and do something really big," Vanity Fair cited one anonymous source "briefed on Trump's thinking" as saying. The report said the leak about Rosenstein's potential resignation could have been the result of that calculus.
If Rosenstein resigned, "it would be disappointing because he would abdicate his responsibility," said the former federal prosecutor Jeffrey Cramer. "He is the only person, the one buffer, protecting Mueller."
Mueller is authorized not only to probe Russia's interference in the election, but any and all matters that may arise as a result of that. Federal guidelines also give him broad authority, stating that he is not subject "to the day-to-day supervision of any official of the department."
But Cramer warned that the biggest danger stemming from Rosenstein's potential ouster has nothing to do with his replacement ending the Russia investigation, because the political blowback from such a move would be too much.
"Keep in mind that Mueller can't indict anyone or do anything of importance without the approval of whoever's overseeing him," he said. "That puts that person in a very powerful position. They won't shut it down, but they can slow-walk the investigation. That's the biggest concern."
'Quitting is basically handing the president victory on a silver platter'
If Rosenstein had resigned instead of being fired, "it would play into Trump's hands," said Glenn Carle, a retired CIA operative.
The president has long targeted Rosenstein and other DOJ officials who he believes are working against him.
If Rosenstein were to step down, Carle said, it would solve one of Trump's problems without adding another layer to a growing obstruction case against him.
He added that it would also allow the president to appoint a loyalist to oversee Mueller, which could "deal a grievous blow to the idea of the Justice Department serving the Constitution and the laws rather than an individual."
Cramer agreed.
"If he gets fired, he gets fired," he said of Rosenstein. "There's some nobility in that. Quitting is basically handing the president victory on a silver platter."
Another current FBI agent said there was "no doubt that rank and file would be angry if Rod Rosenstein stepped down or got fired because of that NYT report."
"Many were on high alert this morning," they added.
But they noted that Mueller has also taken steps to ensure that certain divisions of the DOJ and FBI are briefed so they could potentially continue the investigation if Trump fires him or Rosenstein.
"If [Rosenstein] is fired or resigned, that's a blow to the public facing aspect of the investigation, but it in no way means the entire thing would be shut down," they said.
"The president would have to fire everybody at the FBI and DOJ for that to happen."