Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein expected to resign next month: report

CNN has reported that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein is expected to step down next month, citing an anonymous Justice Department official with knowledge of Rosenstein's thinking.

Rosenstein, who has had oversight of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into President Donald Trump and the Trump campaign and potential collusion with Russia, had reportedly already planned to step down once Attorney General William Barr was confirmed, although the exact timing of that move was previously unknown.

Barr has already selected deputy transportation secretary Jeffrey Rosen as his deputy attorney general, an appointment that is likely to be announced soon.

Rosenstein's name has been back in the news in recent days as former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe has talked publicly about Rosenstein allegedly discussing how Trump could be removed from office under the 25th Amendment if they could prove that he was unfit for office.

McCabe also said Rosenstein brought up the idea of wearing a wire to record Trump.

Rosenstein and the Justice Department have denied those allegations, but that didn't stop Trump from taking a shot at Rosenstein, whom Trump nominated in 2017, and McCabe on Twitter.

"Wow, so many lies by now disgraced acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe," Trump wrote on Twitter. "He was fired for lying, and now his story gets even more deranged. He and Rod Rosenstein, who was hired by Jeff Sessions (another beauty), look like they were planning a very illegal act, and got caught."

CNN's Justice Department source said that the news of Rosenstein's impending departure has nothing to do with McCabe's accusations.

Rosenstein will use his remaining time in the position to assist with Barr's transition into the attorney general role. Barr was sworn in on Thursday.