Last week, President Donald Trump’s advisers believed he would soon fire the Justice Department official overseeing a Russia investigation he calls a “witch hunt,” a step that could set off a cascade of resignations and a potential crisis.
But in recent days a series of events have played out that have calmed the situation, easing fears that Trump would imminently move against Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.
In a private meeting at the White House on April 12, Rosenstein told the president he was not a target of the Russia investigation. During the meeting, Rosenstein left the impression that the president was “in no jeopardy,” as one senior White House official briefed on the exchange described it. It is unclear exactly what was said in the room.
Telling a person he is not a target of a probe doesn’t mean that prosecutors have concluded their investigation, but rather that they don’t have sufficient evidence at the time tying the person to a crime.
An expanded version of this article appears at WSJ.com
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