Amid a clamor from President Donald Trump's top allies in the House to bring Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein in for an interview, he agreed to the briefing prior to any subpoena threats being leveled by GOP leaders. | Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Legal Rosenstein agrees to meet with lawmakers over allegations he wanted to secretly record Trump

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein has agreed to meet with top House lawmakers to discuss recent reports that he proposed secretly recording President Donald Trump during the tumultuous period after Trump's decision to fire FBI Director James Comey, according to a Justice Department source.

The agreement to brief lawmakers on the episode comes amid a clamor from Trump's top allies in the House to haul Rosenstein in for an interview, possibly under the threat of a subpoena. The DOJ source said Rosenstein had agreed to the briefing prior to any subpoena threats being leveled by GOP leaders. It is expected within the next two weeks.


It's unclear, though, whether the session will be part of a formal House GOP investigation into allegations of misconduct by FBI and Justice Department officials in 2016 and 2017, part of a probe Republicans say is exposing anti-Trump bias but that Democrats accuse of intentionally undermining ongoing investigations into Trump and his campaign's contacts with Russians.

The Republicans leading that investigation include House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte and House Oversight Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy, along with top Trump allies Mark Meadows and Jim Jordan. Goodlatte indicated that he had invited Rosenstein in for a "private meeting" in the coming weeks but said details are still in flux. Jordan said he had been under the impression that the meeting is a transcribed interview just like those the panel had held for Justice Department officials like Bruce Ohr.

The top Democrats on both committees, Reps. Jerrold Nadler and Elijah Cummings, are on the task force as well. Democrats have been invited to all of the panel's interviews so far, and a GOP source said there was no reason this interview would be any different, but Nadler raised alarm that Democrats might be shut out.

"The @HouseGOP cannot be left alone in a room with DAG Rosenstein," Nadler tweeted Friday morning. "They will not stop until theIr attempt to undermine Mueller’s investigation is complete. I will demand that @SpeakerRyan give us access to that meeting."

Goodlatte's characterization of the discussion as a "private meeting" is likely to revive that concern. Democrats have previously complained when Republicans sought Justice Department briefings without including them and demanded that, at minimum, they be offered identical briefings from the same Justice Department officials.

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Meanwhile, the Justice Department source said Rosenstein had agreed with Goodlatte to come in for a briefing, rather than an official interview as part of his panel's investigation — raising questions about whether there will be a dispute over the format. House GOP leaders backed Goodlatte's plan to bring Rosenstein in and to use the threat of a subpoena to compel his testimony if he refused.

Meadows, who has vocally agitated to bring Rosenstein in to testify before lawmakers leave for an October recess, hailed the decision and said it would be a chance to quiz Rosenstein about "inconsistent statements."

