The Latest: Trump postpones meeting with Rosenstein

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Latest on Deputy Attorney Rod Rosenstein (all times local):

12:45 p.m.

President Donald Trump has postponed his highly anticipated meeting with embattled Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein until next week to avoid interfering with the Senate hearing on sexual assault allegations against his Supreme Court nominee.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders says the president spoke with Rosenstein “a few minutes ago” and they now plan to meet next week.

She said, “They do not want to do anything to interfere with the hearing.”

Rosenstein’s job is in question following reports he discussed possibly secretly recording the president and using the Constitution’s 25th Amendment to remove him from office.

Trump says he has denied the reports.

Trump also said Wednesday he’d “certainly prefer not” to fire Rosenstein, the Justice Department’s No. 2 official who is overseeing the special counsel investigation into Russian election meddling.

___

11:45 a.m.

It remains unclear whether President Donald Trump will be meeting with embattled Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein on Thursday.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders tells reporters aboard Air Force One that Trump did not call the Justice Department’s No. 2 official Wednesday evening as he said he might.

And she says she has no update on whether they’ll meet Thursday.

Trump said Wednesday he was considering calling Rosenstein that night or Thursday to delay their highly anticipated meeting. Trump said he wanted to avoid distracting from the Senate’s hearing on sexual assault allegations against his Supreme Court nominee.

Trump said he’d “certainly prefer not” to fire Rosenstein and that Rosenstein had denied reports he discussed possibly secretly recording the president and using the Constitution’s 25th Amendment to remove him from office.

Rosenstein is overseeing the special counsel investigation into Russian election meddling.

___

12:30 a.m.

President Donald Trump’s meeting with the deputy attorney general may or may not happen as originally planned, but Trump says he’d prefer not to fire Rod Rosenstein regardless.

Rosenstein landed in hot water after remarks first attributed to him in a New York Times report, including that he had discussed possibly secretly recording Trump and using the Constitution’s 25th Amendment to remove him from office. Rosenstein has disputed that.

Rosenstein was called to the White House earlier this week, but a decision on his fate was put off until Trump’s return from the United Nations.

Trump said Wednesday in New York that the planned meeting Thursday might be delayed because it would come the same day as the Senate hearing for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein leaves his home on Thursday, Sept. 27, 2018 in Bethesda, Md. President Donald Trump’s meeting with the deputy attorney general may or may not happen Thursday as originally planned, but Trump says he’d prefer not to fire Rosenstein regardless. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)