Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein Telling Confidants He’s Prepared for Trump to Fire Him

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein is telling confidants that he is prepared to be fired by President Trump, NBC News reported Friday. According to multiple sources, Rosenstein—who is taking fire from Trump for his role in the Russia probe that has ensnared a handful of the president’s associates—has repeated the phrase “Here I stand,” referencing theologian Martin Luther, who famously defied the Catholic Church during the Protestant Reformation. NBC News noted that Rosenstein had previously been described as anxious about the public’s perception of him and his role in firing FBI Director James Comey last year—at the president’s behest—and his subsequent appointment of a special counsel to oversee the Trump-Russia probe. But now, NBC News’ sources said, Rosenstein is prepared to be next in line to meet Trump’s wrath.