Rosenstein Said to Tell Trump He's Not Target in Mueller Probe

[brooklynite]

Source: Bloomberg

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein told President Donald Trump last week that he isn’t a target of any part of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Rosenstein, who brought up the Mueller probe himself, offered the assurance during a meeting with Trump at the White House last Thursday, a development that helped tamp down the president’s desire to remove Rosenstein or Mueller, the people said.

After the meeting, Trump told some of his closest advisers that it’s not the right time to remove either man since he’s not a target of the probe. One person said Trump doesn’t want to take any action that would drag out the investigation.

Read more: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-04-19/rosenstein-said-to-tell-trump-he-s-not-target-in-mueller-probe

[louis c]

1. Yeah, so

Isn't this old news? Trump was termed a "subject" of the investigation last week. A subject is not a "target". A subject can become a target.

Wait until the Feds start reading Cohen's files, and then we'll see who's not a "target".

[brooklynite]

9. Trump need constant reassuring.....and his blankey

[Cracklin Charlie]

28. My three year old grandgirl is not this whiny.

Neither is her six week old sister!

WhinyAssTittyBaby

[dameatball]

2. Did he also tell him he was a stable genius and not to worry about any stinkin investigations?

Well played Rod!!!


Either that or I am going to be extremely disappointed. I suspect he forget to say "yet."

[pnwmom]

3. If that's what it takes to keep Trump happy, great.

No one has to explain to him that subjects can become targets at any point, or that Trump might be a target of the Cohen investigation -- now or in the future.

[lagomorph777]

4. Or Trump is just making shit up and "leaking" it.

[iluvtennis]

14. ++++ Agree

[VMA131Marine]

5. I think this is just semantics

Trump isn't a target because, as sitting President, he cannot be indicted per DOJ guidelines. That does not mean that the Special Prosecutor can't set him up for impeachment though.

[MFM008]

6. Maybe not a "target"

Collateral damage may be what hes thinking.
You cannot tell me that maggot bastard
will walk scott free from this.
Ill be as shocked as i was by the OJ verdict.

[riversedge]

7. well, golly gee--now the 'riots' can be called off!

[genxlib]

8. So let me get this straight

If he is not a target, the investigation continues.

If he is a target, then the investigation gets terminated.

Can there be any clearer admission of Obstruction of Justice than that?

[PunksMom]

30. Was my thought exactly!

[Mike Nelson]

10. But he's a...

..."subject" in the investigation. When his status changes from "subject" to "target," I think they will inform him - that's probably accepted procedure and the criminal President could make hay if he and his lawyers were not told in a timely manner.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

11. What else could he tell him?

And it was almost certainly the truth. According to the U.S. Attorney's Manual, "a "target" is a person as to whom the prosecutor or the grand jury has substantial evidence linking him or her to the commission of a crime and who, in the judgment of the prosecutor, is a putative defendant." Since the current policy of the DoJ (since Watergate) is that a sitting president can't be indicted for a crime (and I know there are opinions to the contrary), arguably a president can't be a putative defendant, and therefore can't be a target, no matter how much dirt they might have on him. They might have tons of evidence that he committed crimes but they won't charge him (make him a "putative defendant" ) while he's in office. So Rosenstein can honestly tell him he's not a target. That doesn't mean they don't have bushels of evidence of crimes, which can be used for impeachment now and prosecution later.

[WheelWalker]

16. Exactly what I think. Mueller not presently intending to indict a sitting president. Ergo

IQ45 can't be a target at this time. Even the wise cannot see all ends.

[7962]

19. IQ45!!! Another keeper!! nt

[Freethinker65]

12. But if he was told he was a target he would do anything to protect himself??

This is, once again, obstruction

[agueybana79]

13. is this a tactic...

or real?

Mueller...like...WTF.....

[Loki Liesmith]

15. Do you know what it means to be a target?

[gerryatwork]

17. He will probably...

be at some point become an -Unindicted co-conspirator. And of course the morons that follow him will say "see he wasn't indicted" he is innocent.

[Fiendish Thingy]

18. This is old news

Or did Rosenstein tell Trump a second time?

As before, a subject can turn into a target on the blink of an eye (or the flip of a former loyal servant)

[byronius]

20. Every day this puppet stays safely locked into the presidency we fall closer to third-world status.

Not so exceptional, we. Fallen, we have.

This is just a horrifying thing to watch. I know it's been building to this for a generation, but I'd hoped we'd rise to the challenge or something. Clearly not. Clearly this is going to be ugly and messy, and people are going to die, and it's going to get worse before it gets better.

Primitive times. Proceduring and dignity-polishing ourselves into the abyss.

[procon]

21. Doesn't that break all kinds of department policy rules about not

commenting on investigations?

The FBI policy is that does not reveal any information about its ongoing investigations, and Comey was blasted for telling Trump, supposedly on three separate occasions, that he was not under investigation. Now we have Rosenstein doing the same thing and fluffing up Trump's advantage.

[Hekate]

32. The DOJ uses very precise legal terms, as has been pointed out from time to time. It's necessary...

...at all times so they don't actually lie.

In the Time of Trump, moreover, it's absolutely necessary to keep Trump's paranoia in check.

[Yavin4]

22. Nixon wasn't a target of the Watergate investigation either

until John Dean.

[MariaCSR]

23. Who's our John Dean gonna be?

ARe we even gonna HAVE a John Dean?

[Yavin4]

25. Michael Cohen n/t

[DeminPennswoods]

24. Rosenstein told Trump what he wanted to hear

looks like. Rosenstein was at the WH a few days ago and there was myriad speculation that he was there to be fired or to be told he'd be fired. That got everyone all riled up, but apparently wasn't correct.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

26. If a sitting president can't be indicted, which is current DoJ policy,

Spanky can't be a target (for now), so Rosenstein was telling the truth. Since Spanky is an idiot and doesn't understand all this stuff, he'll relax and maybe even agree to an interview, and Rosenstein's job is at least temporarily safe.

[Eliot Rosewater]

27. I used to wonder how important the rule of law really was, I dont wonder anymore.

It is the ONLY thing that matters, because NOTHING else exists without it.

[sharedvalues]

29. Not yet !!!

[Julian Englis]

31. tRump isnt a target 🎯 of a criminal probe because...

He’s the target of an impeachment probe.

Remember: Mueller’s a conservative, both politically and legally. He is following the DOJ policy and the conservative belief that you can’t indict a sitting president. Rather, the president has to be impeached first and removed from office. (Also, unlike Ken Starr, Mueller’s also not a political hack. Starr’s people wrote a politicized memo arguing a sitting president could be indicted.)

Consequently, Mueller’s focus as to tRump is on gathering information and laying a foundation for an impeachment.

My guess is when Mueller’s report on tRump is released the House will have no choice but to impeach tRump.

[Kablooie]

33. What if it's true?

Everything had been arranged so that others can be proven guilty but Trump could never be directly implicated?