Sessions said he would have had to consider leaving as the attorney general had Trump ousted Rosenstein, this person said. Another person familiar with the exchange said Sessions did not intend to threaten the White House but rather wanted to convey the untenable position that Rosenstein’s firing would put him in. He has regularly sought guidance from the White House about Rosenstein’s standing with the president and asked about his interactions with Trump, this official said. President Barack Obama’s first deputy attorney general, David Ogden, stepped down from the job after less than a year. Rosenstein took the action without first consulting Sessions and notified him when he was at the White House meeting with Trump.

Source: Washington Post April 20, 2018 22:31 UTC