UPDATE 2: From ABC News:
This is the statement:
In other words, from The Washington Post's White House reporter:
UPDATE: From Politico's reporter covering White House, DOJ & courts:
As we wait, The Atlantic's Natasha Bertrand explains what impact a Rosenstein departure would have on the Russia investigation:
For months, Rosenstein has been the only official standing between Trump and the special counsel’s Russia investigation, which Trump has wanted to shut down. His departure is unlikely to immediately upend the inquiry, which is examining Russia’s election interference and a potential conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Moscow, legal experts told me, but his replacement is not guaranteed to protect the probe.
Solicitor General Noel Francisco, who has expressed skepticism of special-counsel investigations in the past and has a relatively expansive view of executive power, will take Rosenstein’s place. A law passed in 1998 would allow Trump to appoint anyone who has already been confirmed by the Senate to the deputy attorney general post, but only if Rosenstein resigns. If he’s fired, the president’s legal authority to make appointments unilaterally is much murkier.
(...)
Regardless of who replaces Rosenstein, Mueller will still have broad authority to conduct the probe as he sees fit; federal guidelines mandate that the special counsel “shall not be subject to the day-to-day supervision of any official of the department.” But his replacement would still have the power to stymie the probe by deeming certain investigative or prosecutorial steps “inappropriate or unwarranted.”
Even if Mueller were fired, he could be replaced, as Paul Rosenzweig, the former senior counsel on the Whitewater investigation, noted recently. Pieces of the investigation could also get farmed out to various legal divisions. The Southern District of New York, for example, brought charges last month against Trump’s personal attorney Michael Cohen based in part on a referral from Mueller’s team.
(...)
Were Trump to fire Rosenstein for reasons related to the Russia investigation—for example, if he wanted to replace the deputy attorney general with someone willing to shut Mueller down—that, too, could constitute obstruction of justice, legal experts told me. With the Times story, however, Trump was handed a justification for firing that, on its face, is unrelated to Rosenstein’shandling of the Mueller probe. That’s despite reporting from The Washington Post that Rosenstein’s comment about recording Trump was made in jest in response to McCabe’s suggestion that the Justice Department investigate Trump after he dismissed Comey.
(...)
Whether Trump, with the hypothetical help of Rosenstein’s successor, successfully hinders or shuts down the Russia investigation could be in Congress’s hands. Senate Republicans have rejected attempts to protect the Mueller investigation and restrict Trump’s ability to fire Mueller, including via a bipartisan bill proposed by the Senate Judiciary Committee that would have prevented Trump from firing Rosenstein for any reason other than misconduct or “good cause.” “We'll not be having this on the floor of the Senate,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said of the bill earlier this year.
What Rosenstein’s Exit Would Mean for Mueller's Russia Investigation (The Atlantic)
Axios broke the news Monday morning that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein has offered his resignation with the assumption that the White House will fire him today.
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein has verbally resigned to Chief of Staff John Kelly in anticipation of being fired by President Trump, according to a source with direct knowledge. Per a second source with direct knowledge: “He’s expecting to be fired,” so he plans to step down.
Background: Rosenstein talked last year about invoking the 25th Amendment and wearing a wire during Trump meetings, the N.Y. Times' Adam Goldman and Michael S. Schmidt reported last week. He denied both allegations.
However, conflicting reports are emerging as to whether Rosenstein has, in fact, offered to resign or whether he is going to push the White House to fire him.
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein was heading to the White House on Monday expecting to be fired by President Donald Trump following reports that he had made critical comments of Trump, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press.
Trump himself was in New York for a meeting of the U.N. General Assembly.
(...)
Any termination or resignation would have immediate implications for special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of possible collaboration between Russia and the Trump campaign before the 2016 election. Rosenstein appointed Mueller and oversees his investigation.
Solicitor General Noel Francisco, the highest-ranking Senate confirmed official below Rosenstein in the Justice Department, would take control of the Mueller investigation.
(...)
Rosenstein appointed Mueller as special counsel in May of last year and has strongly defended his work and independence.
He has announced two indictments brought by Mueller — one against Russians accused of hacking Democratic email accounts, the other against Russians accused of running a social media troll farm to sway public opinion during the 2016 election.
Exclusive: Rod Rosenstein is resigning (Axios)
AP source: Deputy AG Rosenstein is expecting to be fired (AP)