Rod Rosenstein Headed to the Woodshed? Trump Postponses Showdown for Now

President Trump has postponed a planned meeting with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein that may have decided his fate, directly affecting the Russia investigation.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders says, “The President spoke with Rod Rosenstein a few minutes ago and they plan to meet next week. They do not want to do anything to interfere with the hearing.”  

When that finally happens, will Rosenstein resign, or be fired for remarks he reportedly made against the president?

Wednesday in New York, President Trump hinted that he would postpone his scheduled meeting with the deputy attorney general. 

"I don't want to do anything that gets in the way of this very important Supreme Court pick. So I don't want it competing or hurting the decision – one way or the other, the decision, " he explained.

Late last week, the New York Times reported that Rosenstein told former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe he'd wear a wire and secretly record the president early in 2017. The information would be used to invoke the 25th Amendment. That amendment allows removal of a president from office if he is declared unfit or incapable of performing his duties. 

Rosenstein denied the report and Justice Department officials said he was being sarcastic.

Rosenstein was reportedly ready to resign early this week, but that didn’t happen. Instead, the two will talk today, and despite the New York Times story, relations between the president and Rosenstein have reportedly improved in recent weeks. 

On Wednesday, the president suggested he'd prefer to keep him on.

"He said he never said it, that he doesn't believe it. He said he has a lot of respect for me and he was very nice and we'll see," said Trump.  

If the president fires Rosenstein, he'd need to appoint a new deputy attorney general. There is no clue at this point who the president would name, but it would likely be someone who has already received US Senate approval.

Also, because Attorney General Jeff Sessions has recused himself from the Russia investigation, the person replacing Rosenstein would then oversee the probe led by Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller.