Reprinted with permission from AlterNet.
A New York Times report finding that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein had discussed using the 25th Amendment to oust President Donald Trump and suggested secretly recording interactions in the White House brought tensions in Washington, D.C., to a boil Friday as observers on all sides suspected the news might prompt the president to fire the Justice Department appointee.
But some quickly expressed skepticism about the report. They pointed to the Justice Department’s statement suggested that Rosenstein was joking and noted that the deputy attorney general himself denied the report.
CNN legal analyst Michael Zeldin was among the skeptics.
“I don’t credit it,” Zeldin said. “He’s a very cautious lawyer. This doesn’t sound like words that would come out of his mouth, especially so early in his tenure at the Department of Justice.”
He continued: “I could be wrong, I often am. But it just doesn’t strike me as consistent with who Rod Rosenstein is, and why, at this point in his tenure, discussions of the 25th Amendment, or even wearing a wire, would even be part of his contemplation.
Watch the clip below:
“My first impression in reading this is, I don’t credit it.” Michael Zeldin says #NYT report on Deputy AG Rosenstein discussing the 25th Amendment, and suggesting the secret recording of Trump, doesn’t sound consistent with who Rosenstein is https://t.co/wNZ0bVeee0 pic.twitter.com/CWiwbOemBX
— CNN Newsroom (@CNNnewsroom) September 21, 2018
Cody Fenwick is a reporter and editor. Follow him on Twitter @codytfenwick.
