The Wall Street Journal was first to report that Special Counsel Robert Mueller has interviewed Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein about President Trump’s firing of FBI Director James Comey. The interview reportedly took place sometime last June or July.
Rosenstein, who assumed oversight of the Justice Department’s Russia investigation after Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ recusal, is the man who appointed Mueller, and technically, is Mueller’s boss.
President Trump originally said he fired Comey on Rosenstein’s recommendation but quickly changed his story and admitted he fired Comey on his own and because of the Russia probe.
Rosenstein reportedly told Mueller Trump understood that firing Comey wouldn’t end the Russia investigation and could have negative consequences but that Trump didn’t care and just wanted Comey gone.