House Republican leadership will interview deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein in a private hearing in the coming weeks regarding a recent report that he discussed secretly recording President Trump in order to bolster the case for impeachment, Politico reported Friday.
Republican Representatives Mark Meadows of North Carolina, John Ratliffe of Texas, Trey Gowdy of South Carolina, Ken Buck of Colorado, Bob Goodlatte of Virginia and Jim Jordan of Ohio will question Rosenstein and plan to subpoena him if he does not appear.
Word of the hearing comes one day after Trump spoke briefly with Rosenstein over the phone in the wake of reports that he had verbally resigned to Chief of Staff John Kelly, who reportedly did not accept the resignation. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said Thursday that Trump plans to meet privately with Rosenstein next week to discuss his future in the administration.
“I’m talking to him. We’ve had a good talk,” Trump said Thursday of his conversation with Rosenstein. “He said he never said it. He said he doesn’t believe it. He said he has a lot of respect for me, and he was very nice, and we’ll see.”
The New York Times reported Friday that Rosenstein discussed secretly recording his conversations with Trump in a meeting with senior Department of Justice and FBI officials. He aslo reportedly advocated invoking the 25th amendment, which would declare Trump unfit for office and prompt impeachment proceedings.