The media were going bananas this morning with proclamations of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein on the cusp of being fired and headed to the White House.

Firing is not how leverage works.

According to both President Trump (via tweet), and DAG Rod Rosenstein (via statement), the President and Deputy AG had a meeting last week to discuss the declassification directive. Within that meeting it is almost certain that part of the conversation circled around Rosenstein being unable to fulfill his responsibilities at the DOJ if the substance of the information underneath the declassification directive was released.

Understanding the institutional corruption hidden by the DOJ and FBI classification and redaction, it is predictable that Rosenstein would become the target for Trump media allies and supporters when the circumstances, evidence and details surrounding the soft-coup attempt are exposed.

Whether the Deputy AG participated/facilitated the soft-coup attempt directly, indirectly, or through willful blindness, there’s no way that Rosenstein could stay on. So within that conversation last week, it is almost certain the DAG advanced his resignation *IF* the declassification directive went forward and exposed the usurping details.

John Kelly, who just met with Rod Rosenstein, told associates this morning that Rosenstein offered his resignation last week. — Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) September 24, 2018

The decision by President Trump not to declassify the information did two things: (1) it gave the President leverage over Rosenstein and by extension over Mueller. After all, the construct of the special counsel was built upon DOJ/FBI intentional lies and FISA fraud. (2) the decision places a heavy burden upon the Inspector General to be brutally honest with his FISA report. If the IG is not brutally honest, Trump releases the declassified information and the IG is shown as participating in a cover-up.

All of this leverage makes the position of DAG Rod Rosenstein tenuous.

Do you think Rosenstein likes the idea of sitting around waiting for the IG report to show the world how badly he botched the DOJ job, and even facilitated their corrupt activity, during his stewardship? He made a Special Counsel investigative appointment from a foundation of fraud; and all of this was collateral damage from the political efforts of the prior administration. Think about it. Sucks to be the DAG. [He did it to himself]

Add into that sunlight waiting to surface – the reality that former Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe is openly telling his allied media he has evidence (memos) that will implicate Rosenstein in the plot, scheme and soft-coup. See Rosensteins’ position?

There’s no reason for the White House to fire Rosenstein; his own conduct has put himself into a virtual corner and there’s only one way out. So it was brutally obvious, to me, with Trump carrying all of this leverage over Rosenstein, the White House meeting today wasn’t about firing him.

The statement from the White House:

WH Statement on inquires about Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein: At the request of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, he and President Trump had an extended conversation to discuss the recent news stories. Because the President is at the United Nations General Assembly and has a full schedule with leaders from around the world, they will meet on Thursday when the President returns to Washington, D.C. ~ Sarah Sanders

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein career in the DOJ is over, he’s a dead-man-walking, but not because of anything President Trump has done; Rosenstein has put himself into this position. President Trump just smartly took the opportunity to hold the political leverage and narrow the path.

There’s no doubt the DAG will resign, the question is the timing. What moment provides him the least disgraced exit? That’s the question. Everything else is media shiny things; chaff and countermeasures from the narrative engineers.