FROM SCOOP TO FLOP? New reporting takes the *BOOM* out of the NYT's piece on Rod Rosenstein

New reporting from the Washington Post, Politico and The Weekly Standard have significantly blunted the impact of the New York Times’ big scoop this afternoon reporting that Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein had suggesting taping President Trump and possibly invoking the 25th Amendment to remove him from office.

First up is the Washington Post which suggest the wiretapping line was a joke in response to now fired Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe:

Andrew McCabe was suggesting that DOJ investigate the president, per @mattzap & @DevlinBarrett reporting. “What do you want to do, Andy, wire the president?” Rosenstein responded. https://t.co/WqXCof3QZ2

— Josh Dawsey (@jdawsey1) September 21, 2018

From the Post:

That person said the wire comment came in response to McCabe’s own pushing for the Justice Department to open an investigation into the president. To that, Rosenstein responded with what this person described as a sarcastic comment along the lines of, “What do you want to do, Andy, wire the president?”

Another official at the meeting, then-FBI lawyer Lisa Page, wrote her own memo of the discussion which does not mention any talk of the 25th amendment, according to a second person who was familiar with her account.

A third person familiar with the discussions said McCabe had privately asserted previously that Rosenstein suggested invoking the 25th amendment and the idea of a senior law enforcement officials wearing a wire while talking to Trump.

Now, it’s not just us saying it’s different. It’s the blue-check brigade who’s saying it:

A very different / clashing context https://t.co/eSaRFjvG0Q

— Jonathan Swan (@jonathanvswan) September 21, 2018

This NYT Rosenstein story is the vintage Trump/Russia/Twitter dynamic. Immediately upon publication, it's breathlessly treated as The Story, the ultimate proof, the breaking point. Then it simmers, people read it, consider what it says, then it evaporates into a light steam…

— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) September 21, 2018

Next up is Politico, which quotes another person at the meeting who confirms the comment was made sarcastically:

"I remember this meeting and remember the wire comment. The statement was sarcastic and was never discussed with any intention of recording a conversation with the president," the person said. https://t.co/MsmfJn4wPp via @kyledcheney reports

— Natasha Korecki (@natashakorecki) September 21, 2018

And a “former DOJ official” tells Politico’s Josh Gerstein that Rosenstein would never have been serious about the 25th Amendment because Rosenstein is not an idiot and knows it’s actually harder to remove a president this way than impeachment:

A former DOJ official says any reference by Rosenstein to 25th Amendment would've been a joke because he knows the law and that 25th is harder to invoke than impeachment. Earlier on that point: https://t.co/98p26KQMyV

— Josh Gerstein (@joshgerstein) September 21, 2018

And finally, The Weekly Standard is reporting that this is “100 percent in character” for Rosenstein to joke like this:

One former DOJ official tells me that it's "100 percent in character" for Rosenstein to make a joke like the one he supposedly made about recording Trump. https://t.co/zXcLAWEu3P

— Mike Warren (@MichaelRWarren) September 21, 2018

The NYT, however, is digging in and added another source to its reporting:

UPDATE: We’ve learned that on a second occasion, Rosenstein discussed wearing a wire. This was in addition to the earlier instance of him raising the idea of either him or FBI officials wearing recording devices for when they see Trump https://t.co/pu3rhF2PQc w/@adamgoldmanNYT pic.twitter.com/lSOhm96PIL

— Michael S. Schmidt (@nytmike) September 21, 2018

And NYT reporter Adam Goldman insists that Rosenstein “wasn’t being flip”:

NYT reporter: Rosenstein wasn’t being flip about wearing wire https://t.co/be2TghQPeJ @adamgoldmanNYT on @TheLeadCNN

— The Lead CNN (@TheLeadCNN) September 21, 2018

But it may not matter if Rosenstein was flip or not as The Daily Beast is reporting that President Trump is ready to wage a “jihad” on the DOJ over it, including the possible firing of Rosenstein:

Current and former admin. officials said they expect Trump to dismiss DOJ staff following reports that Rosenstein had contemplated— sarcastically, his defenders say—the idea of wiretapping Trump or removing him from office via the 25th Amendment https://t.co/fdGIi93x8t

— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) September 21, 2018

“Trump is gonna go on a jihad. The NYT op-ed gave an opportunity to really drive home the deep state stuff. With this new story, it gives additional credibility,” said one former senior White House official https://t.co/fdGIi93x8t

— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) September 21, 2018

“No one knew this was coming and I’m unsure what is going to happen,” one senior DOJ official said, “but most people here are talking about the very real possibility that Rod is on his way out.” https://t.co/fdGIi93x8t

— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) September 21, 2018

“Of all the sinister efforts to topple Rosenstein, this one is surely the most conniving yet,” said one DOJ trial attorney https://t.co/fdGIi93x8t

— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) September 21, 2018

Buckle up.

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UH OH! Subject of anonymously-sourced 'huge scoop' about Trump & 25th Amendment accuses NY Times of pushing #FakeNews https://t.co/9I9xW3QssI

— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) September 21, 2018