Former acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe revealed that there were discussions about invoking the 25th Amendment to remove President Trump and said Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein offered to wear a wire to record the president.
McCabe revealed in an interview with CBS News that the Justice Department had discussions about whether the vice president and the cabinet could be brought in to remove the president after the firing of then-FBI Director James Comey.
CBS News’ Scott Pelley detailed the revelations on Thursday after interviewing McCabe for a “60 Minutes” piece scheduled to air Sunday.
Much of the interview was focused on the eight days between the firing of Comey and the appointment of special counsel Bob Mueller by Rosenstein.
“There were meetings at the Justice Department at which it was discussed whether the vice president and a majority of the Cabinet could be brought together to remove the president of the United States under the 25th Amendment,” Pelley said. “And the highest levels of American law enforcement were trying to figure out what to do with the president.”
Deputy AG offered to wear a wire, McCabe says:
Pelley added that McCabe said that Rosenstein offered multiple times to wear a wire to meetings with the president. The New York Times previously reported this detail, which Rosenstein has denied.
The Department of Justice issued a statement reaffirming Rosenstein’s denial Thursday.
"McCabe ... says no, it came up more than once and it was so serious that he took it to the lawyers at the FBI to discuss it," Pelley said.
McCabe was fired in March before an inspector general found that he lied about his contacts with the press.
McCabe opened obstruction probe into Trump:
McCabe told Pelley that he opened an obstruction of justice investigation into Trump after Comey’s firing to protect the investigation into his Russia ties, which he worried would “vanish” after Comey’s removal.
“I was very concerned that I was able to put the Russia case on absolutely solid ground, in an indelible fashion,” McCabe said. “That were I removed quickly, or reassigned or fired, that the case could not be closed or vanish in the night without a trace."
