JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/NOMINATION/RUSSIA INVESTIGATION/SUPREME COURT/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump defused the tension building around a closely watched meeting with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein slated for Thursday [9-27-18], suggesting that the No. 2 at the Justice Department may not lose his job after all…He went on to indicate that he may postpone the meeting in order to avoid ‘competing’ with his Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s high-stakes hearing on Capitol Hill Thursday…But a potential delay or wholesale cancellation of the Rosenstein meeting goes beyond competing with Kavanaugh. It could be seen as a sign that Trump has opted to follow the a chorus of advice — from his lawyers to Fox News’ Sean Hannity — not to oust Rosenstein, the man who oversees special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation. Last week’s stunning reports of Rosenstein’s musings about wearing a wire to surreptitiously record the President and ousting him from office last year immediately raised questions about his job security, but the President appeared unperturbed Wednesday [9-26-18].”
–Jeff Zeleny, Laura Jarrett, Evan Perez, Kaitlan Collins, Jeremy Herb and Dana Bash, “Trump suggests Rosenstein could stay at DOJ,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, September 26, 2018 8:57 pm