BFF-05,06 New bombshell revives debate on Trump fitness for office

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New bombshell revives debate on Trump fitness for office

WASHINGTON, Sept 22, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Donald Trump faced a new challenge to
his authority Friday after US media reported that his deputy attorney general
had discussed ways to force him from office on grounds of incompetence, just
months into his presidency.

In the latest bombshell to rock the troubled administration, The New York
Times and The Washington Post reported that Rod Rosenstein in May 2017 had
suggested secretly recording Trump for evidence of White House dysfunction —
and using that to formally remove him from power.

Coming on the heels of an explosive book by respected White House
chronicler Bob Woodward, the reports added to mounting evidence indicating
that numerous people in Trump’s own government have serious doubts about his
fitness for office — and have actively worked to undermine him.

As the number two Justice Department official, Rosenstein oversees the
probe into whether Trump’s 2016 election campaign colluded with Russians in
defeating Democrat Hillary Clinton.

The Time and Post reports were both based on secret memos by a former FBI
director — which some speculated may have been leaked in order to undermine
Rosenstein, and in turn the Russia special prosecutor Robert Mueller.

Rosenstein branded the reports “inaccurate and factually incorrect.”

“I never pursued or authorized recording the president and any suggestion
that I have ever advocated for the removal of the president is absolutely
false,” he added.

And the Justice Department released a statement by a former senior
official — who would not be identified — saying that he was “in the room”
at the time and that Rosenstein was only joking.

“The statement was sarcastic and was never discussed with any intention of
recording a conversation with the president,” said the former official.

Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr held up the reports as evidence of disloyalty
among the president’s entourage.

“Who are we kidding at this point?” he tweeted, above a link to the Times
article. “No one is shocked that these guys would do anything in their power
to undermine @realdonaldtrump.”

Trump’s Republican ally Mike Huckabee meanwhile urged Attorney General
Jeff Sessions to fire Rosenstein — or for Trump to fire them both if he
refuses.

Washington was convulsed this month by the release of Woodward’s book on
the inner workings of the White House — which he described as mired in a
perpetual “nervous breakdown” with staff battling to control an unstable
president.

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Compounding Woodward’s account, The New York Times went on to publish an
op-ed by an anonymous senior official — whose identity remains a mystery —
claiming that select administration staff members are so alarmed by the
president’s “erratic” and “amoral” behavior that they actively sabotage his
most extreme policy efforts.

“We believe our first duty is to this country, and the president continues
to act in a manner that is detrimental to the health of our republic,” the
writer said.

– Mueller probe threatened? –

The latest reports were based on private memos written by then-interim FBI
director Andrew McCabe, summarizing discussions with Rosenstein.

Because Rosenstein oversees the Russia probe, there was immediate
speculation that the memos may have been leaked in order to damage
Rosenstein, and by extension Mueller — more than to hurt Trump.

Rosenstein appointed Mueller in May 2017 as the special counsel for the
Russia investigation.

After securing convictions of seven people associated with Trump,
Mueller’s probe increasingly threatens the White House and the president
himself.

Trump has repeatedly pressured Rosenstein and Sessions to shut down what
he calls an illegal “witch hunt.”

The president did not respond specifically to the shock news reports, but
at a political rally in Missouri late Friday he referred to “what’s being
exposed at the Department of Justice and the FBI.”

“You have some real bad ones. You see what’s happening at the FBI –
they’re all gone, they’re all gone,” he said.

“There’s a lingering stench and we’re going to get rid of that too,” Trump
finished.

Chuck Schumer, the top Democrat in the Senate, immediately sought to pre-
empt any attempt to fire Rosenstein. “This story must not be used as a
pretext for the corrupt purpose of firing Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein
in order (to) install an official who will allow the president to interfere
with the Special Counsel’s investigation,” Schumer said.

The Times said Rosenstein made the comments in a particularly chaotic
period, in the weeks right after he was appointed deputy attorney general.

Rosenstein’s alleged allusion to the 25th amendment of the US
Constitution, which provides for removing a president if they are judged
unfit for office, came just after Trump fired FBI director James Comey —
invoking a memo written by Rosenstein.

According to the Times, Rosenstein was unhappy about being “used” by Trump
in the firing of Comey, as well as concerned about other turmoil in the White
House under the new president.

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