Critics have said that role should have prompted Mr. Rosenstein to recuse himself from the inquiry, but top ethics lawyers at the Justice Department cleared him to oversee the special counsel, a department spokeswoman said. After Mr. Trump fired Mr. Comey as the director of the F.B.I., setting off a storm of criticism, he asked Mr. Rosenstein to give a news conference and say that the firing had been his idea. Mr. Rosenstein proved to be deeply rattled during the chaotic days after Mr. Comey’s firing. He discussed the possibility of invoking the 25th Amendment to remove Mr. Trump as president and suggested that he secretly record Mr. Trump in the Oval Office, according to people briefed on the events. Mr. Rosenstein has denied their accounts.

Source: New York Times April 20, 2019 00:11 UTC