Sorry for shitting the bread….

https://www.yahoo.com/gma/rosenstein-expected-depart-doj-coming-weeks-once-attorney-090615321–abc-news-topstories.html

Rosenstein expected to depart DOJ in coming weeks once new attorney general confirmed

Good Morning America PIERRE THOMAS, JONATHAN KARL, JOHN SANTUCCI and MIKE LEVINE,Good Morning America 1 hour 31 minutes ago

Rosenstein expected to depart DOJ in coming weeks once new attorney general confirmed (ABC News)

Rosenstein expected to depart DOJ in coming weeks once new attorney general confirmed originally appeared on abcnews.go.com

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein is expected to leave his role in the coming weeks, multiple sources familiar with his plans told ABC News.

Rosenstein has communicated to President Donald Trump and White House officials his plan to depart the administration around the time William Barr, Trump's nominee for attorney general, would take office following a Senate confirmation.

Sources told ABC News Rosenstein wants to ensure a smooth transition to his successor and would accommodate the needs of Barr, should he be confirmed.

Rosenstein apparently had long been thinking he would serve about two years, and there was no indication that he was being forced out at this moment by the president.

(MORE: Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein once suggested recording Trump, removing him via 25th Amendment: Sources)

Upon the termination of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, speculation mounted that Rosenstein would depart shortly thereafter, yet he's remained in his post as Matt Whitaker has served as acting Attorney General since late November.

PHOTO: Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein attends the Religious Liberty Summit at the Department of Justice, July 30, 2018, in Washington, DC. (Win McNamee/Getty Images, FILE)

Rosenstein oversaw special counsel Robert Mueller's probe for more than a year, after Sessions had recused from the matter over his role in Trump's presidential campaign.

Like other senior leaders within the Justice Department, Rosenstein became a frequent target of Trump's on Twitter, with the president recently re-posting an image of Rosenstein and others behind bars.

(MORE: Trump: No intent to fire Rod Rosenstein; says they have a 'good relationship')

In May 2017, shortly after Trump fired James Comey as FBI Director, Rosenstein made the call to appoint Mueller to take over the FBI probe of Russia's meddling in the 2016 presidential election and any possible ties between Russian operatives and Trump associates.

Trump and his Republican allies have repeatedly blasted that decision. But tensions between Trump and Rosenstein came to a head in September, after reports surfaced saying that, during a meeting in the immediate aftermath of Comey's firing, Rosenstein raised the possibility of secretly recording the president at the White House.

However, a source familiar with how Justice Department officials who attended that later meeting viewed what happened, said they believed Rosenstein was being "sarcastic" – noting that there was never any follow-up conversation from Rosenstein or anyone else about it.

PHOTO: Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein applauds after Attorney General Jeff Sessions, right, made an announcement on efforts to reduce transitional crime during a press conference at the U.S. Attorney's Office in Washington, Oct, 15, 2018. (Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images, FILE)

Speaking later about the reports, Rosenstein never totally disputed making such a remark, but he insisted the reports were overblown and that he never took any action to secretly record Trump. A private conversation between Trump and Rosenstein weeks later seemed to cool tensions.

(MORE: What DOJ officials say Rod Rosenstein should tell Trump when they meet, now planned for next week)

Rosenstein played a significant role in Comey's constroversial firing. He and Sessions each submitted letters to Trump, laying out why they believed Comey's termination was warranted. In particular, Rosenstein took Comey to task for his handling of the FBI's investigation of Hillary Clinton's use of a personal email server, and the White House repeatedly pointed to Rosenstein's letter to defend removing Comey.

Though Rosenstein became deputy attorney general under Trump, he served in senior Justice Department roles under both Republican and Democratic presidents. Many of his colleagues within the Justice Department view him as someone who's made decisions based on protecting the department's legacy.