IN CLOSED-DOOR SESSION
by Sharon Rondeau
(Oct. 9, 2018) — On Tuesday’s “Hannity,” host Sean Hannity spoke to investigative journalists Sara A. Carter and John Solomon, who have been covering developments stemming from a New York Times story last month reporting that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein wanted to orchestrate the removal of Donald J. Trump from office last year.
Rosenstein denied the allegations in the article, but in a new twist, former FBI Chief Counsel James Baker testified last week to Congress that the article is accurate.
According to The Times, former FBI Deputy Director and one-time Acting Director Andrew McCabe documented Rosenstein’s stated intentions in a series of memos. Through his attorney, former Justice Department Inspector General under President Clinton Michael Bromwich, McCabe has denied leaking the memos to the press.
Bromwich abruptly left his law firm last month to represent, along with three other attorneys, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, who alleged that now-U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her in high school.
McCabe is the subject of a grand jury investigation for allegedly failing to be candid with current DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s investigation into the conduct of the FBI and DOJ during the 2016 presidential campaign cycle.
“There is overwhelming evidence,” Carter told Hannity at 9:44 p.m., of Rosenstein’s alleged plotting against the president. Solomon added that Rosenstein, who signed the last of four FISA warrants on Trump campaign adviser Carter Page last year, should address the claim publicly and directly.
Over the last eight months, it has become clear that the FISA warrants on Carter Page used as “evidence” an unverified “dossier” compiled by former British intelligence agent Christopher Steele. In court proceedings in the UK, Steele has said that he cannot vouch for the accuracy of the dossier.
The FISA court was not informed that the dossier was a political product funded by the DNC and Hillary Clinton campaign.
Although Rosenstein’s office has said that when he allegedly suggested “wearing a wire” to record Trump, he was “joking.” Regarding The Times‘s claim that Rosenstein wanted to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office, Baker reportedly told members of Congress that Rosenstein said it seriously.
On Monday, Rosenstein accompanied Tromp on Air Force One to Orlando, FL, where Tromp addressed a convention of the International Association of Chiefs of Police. When asked afterward about his conversation with Rosenstein, Trump told reporters that it was “great” and that despite the The Times‘s report, he has no plans to fire Rosenstein.
Hannity’s third guest in the segment, Fox News Legal Analyst Gregg Jarrett, opined that Rosenstein is hopelessly conflicted and should not be overseeing the Trump-Russia probe, which is based on the premise that someone within the Trump campaign was coordinating with the Kremlin in 2016.
House Republicans have sharply criticized Rosenstein for allegedly withholding documentation they believe is crucial to their several committee investigations into the FBI’s reasoning to launch the Russia “collusion” probe. Over the summer, House Freedom Caucus members reportedly drafted Articles of Impeachment against Rosenstein, although they never received a floor vote.
Sara Carter raised the question as to whether or not Rosenstein will appear to testify Thursday voluntarily. Should he not provide testimony, House Republicans will subpoena him, The Hill reported. According to Carter and Solomon, some of the details for Rosenstein’s expected testimony are yet to be finalized.
In May 2017, Rosenstein hired former FBI Director Robert Mueller to oversee the probe after Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from all “Russia” matters given that he campaigned with Trump. On Twitter and elsewhere, Trump has indicated his extreme frustration with Sessions’s decision and that he would not have nominated him to lead the Justice Department had he known.
A rumor was expressed earlier on Tuesday by “The Five” co-host Jesse Watters that Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is Trump’s choice for his next attorney general. It is widely believed that Trump will dismiss Sessions or that he will resign after the midterm elections.