In a series of tweets, Trump lashed out against the investigation into whether his campaign colluded with Russian Federation to influence the 2016 election. As it were, many Americans happen to disagree with that assessment.
However, Trump at one point said during an interview with NBC News that he planned to fire Comey anyway, regardless of Rosenstein's memo. Trump has expressed increasing dissatisfaction with the Justice Department since Mueller's appointment.
With the revelation this week by The Washington Post that Trump was under investigation for possible attempted obstruction of justice, Rosenstein finds himself caught in an awkward pincer - stuck between the wrath of a president who could fire him and questions about his own future role supervising Mueller when he could become a witness in the special counsel's probe. Naturally, he condemns it as a "witch hunt".
Although Rosenstein appointed a special counsel to lead the federal probe, he still makes the final decisions about resources, personnel and - if necessary - any prosecutions.
Mr Rosenstein took over the investigation into whether Russian Federation interfered with the USA election after Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself in March.
Rosenstein, 52, has said little publicly, but a cryptic statement he released late Thursday captured some of the strain and frustration he is probably feeling about the numerous unauthorized leaks about the Russian Federation investigation that have angered the president, according to several of his colleagues and friends.
In a tweet, the president also seemed to accuse the United States deputy attorney general of pursuing a "Witch Hunt".
Justin Thomas shoots 63, trails Brian Harman by one at US Open
Thomas could not have started his afternoon much better, with birdies on the first two holes and six birdies on the front nine. Then he had a run of three birdies. "I was excited to take the lead", Thomas said. "It was an awesome day", Thomas said.
This may have something to do with Rosenstein's role in the firing of FBI Director James Comey, according to CNN.
CNN, however, referenced an unnamed "person familiar with Trump's tweet" who said the president was referring to news reports claiming he is under investigation for obstructing justice.
Earlier this month Mr Rosenstein said "if anything that I did winds up being relevant to his investigation then, as Director Mueller and I discussed, if there's a need from me to recuse, I will".
The possibility of a second top Justice Department official recusing himself from the investigation comes after Trump appeared to criticize Rosenstein (and admit he was under investigation) on Friday.
Rosenstein's unusual statement, which he issued over the objections of some advisers, said in part: "Americans should exercise caution before accepting as true any stories attributed to anonymous 'officials'". When Comey was deputy attorney general in the Bush administration, he appointed a close friend and former colleague, Patrick Fitzgerald, as special counsel to investigate who leaked the identity of Valerie Plame, a covert Central Intelligence Agency officer.
He also said it would be up to Mr Mueller to decide whether Mr Trump's action amounted to obstruction of justice, an act that could be cited in any effort in the Republican-led Congress to impeach him and remove him from office.
Comments