White House Says Trump Will Meet With Rosenstein Thursday
*By Christian Smith*
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein reportedly offered his verbal resignation to White House Chief of Staff John Kelly on Monday but was told to wait for the president. As of Monday evening, he still has a job ー for now.
Rosenstein's undetermined fate will have consequences for Robert Mueller's Russia investigation, said Jonna Spilbor, a former prosecutor.
"I think it is going to affect the Mueller investigation in a good way for all of those who think that this investigation has been one long run-on sentence that we need to put a period at the end of," Spilbor said Monday in an interview on Cheddar.
Several reports suggested Rosenstein would either resign or be fired Monday ー following an explosive piece in The New York Times last week that he had considered secretly taping conversations with the president and discussed soliciting cabinet members to invoke the 25th Amendment, which would start impeachment proceedings. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters that Trump will meet with Rosenstein on Thursday after the president's return from the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
In the event that Rosenstein is fired, a replacement might re-invigorate the Russia probe, Spilbor said.
"The replacement for Rod Rosenstein will say, 'Ok, you've got 30 days,' ー let's pick an arbitrary number ー 'Give me my report because at the end of that 30 days, I'm going to decide if you live or die,'" Spilbor said.
The Justice Department appointed former FBI Director Robert Mueller as special counsel on May 17 of last year to lead an investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Multiple Trump campaign officials have pleaded guilty to charges ranging from bank fraud to obstruction of justice, but no charges related to Russian collusion have been filed ー which is why Spilbor believes the investigation is dragging.
"The investigation has been going on far too long and with far too few results. Why do we keep it going?" Spilbor said.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/how-rosensteins-possible-doj-departure-could-impact-the-russia-investigation).
Mayor Ras Baraka of Newark, NJ and Ayana Morris, co-director of the documentary 'Why Is We Americans?,' join Cheddar News to discuss the new documentary highlighting the impact of the Baraka family.
Former New York City mayor and lawyer to Donald Trump Rudy Giuliani made his singing debut on a taping of Fox’s The Masked Singer. However, Ken Jeong and Robin Thicke, two judges on the competition show, reportedly left in protest when Giuliani was unmasked upon being eliminated.
All Hands celebrates Black History Month by highlighting achievements in inclusivity and paying homage to those who have fought for equal rights. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) joins Cheddar News to discuss voter suppression; Damali Peterman, CEO of Breakthrough ADR, elaborates on the biggest barriers for Black professionals; Andre Perry, senior fellow of Brookings Institution, dives into student loans and the racial wealth divide; and lastly, BET CEO Scott Mills discusses the company's initiatives for 2022.
All month long Cheddar News is celebrating Black History Month.
In our nation’s capital, Black history is being made right now.
cheddar's own Arielle Hixon puts the spotlight on three lawmakers making that happen, Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-IL), Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO), and Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC).
Representative Maxine Waters (D-Calif. 43rd District) joined Cheddar News to talk about the current political climate in America, including efforts to roll back voting rights in multiple states in light of Black History Month. "Why do we have to deal with those who still believe that somehow this country only belongs to the whites of the country and that somehow they have to do everything that they can to undermine our voting and do voters suppression to keep us from being influential and at the table by which to solve problems?" she asked. Waters chided "two Democrats" who she said were stymying attempts to rectify the issue and also spoke on President Biden’s promise to nominate a Black woman to the Supreme Court.
Wall Street saw another volatile day after the Federal Reserve left rates unchanged for now, with plans to raise rates in March at its next meeting in order to ease inflation. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the Fed has not made decisions on the size of rate increases, adding that the Fed is not trying to get inflation below two-percent. Ken Johnson, CFA and Investment Strategy Analyst explains why Powell thinks that high inflation is a significant threat to the labor market.
Anu Gaggar, global investment strategist for Commonwealth Financial Network, joined Cheddar News to discuss how global supply chains could be disrupted even further by an armed conflict in Ukraine.
Solid-state battery maker Factorial Energy recently raised $200 million in a Series D round led by Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis. Factorial says the funding will be used to accelerate commercial production and deployment of its solid-state battery technology, which the company says is safer, and offers up to 50% more driving range than current lithium-ion technology. Factorial also has joint development agreements (announced in late 2021) with Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis, and Hyundai, three of the top 10 global automotive manufacturers, to commercialize its batteries. Factorial CEO Siyu Huang joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
