UPDATE - US: Rosenstein to meet Trump later this week

ADDS WHITE HOUSE STATEMENT; UPDATES THROUGHOUT TO MATCH

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - Uncertainty about Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein's future continued to mount Monday after a White House meeting where he expected to be fired concluded without his dismissal.

A source familiar with the matter confirmed to Anadolu Agency ahead of the meeting that Rosenstein has not submitted his resignation despite reports to the contrary, and is still the Justice Department's number two.

Reports emerged Friday that Rosenstein suggested he secretly record U.S. President Donald Trump and discussed conducting an effort to remove him from office using the 25th Amendment of the Constitution.

Rosenstein made the proposals in the wake of Trump's abrupt May 2017 dismissal of former FBI Director James Comey. The recordings were to be used to expose the inner turmoil within the White House at that time, according to the New York Times.

Rosenstein disputed the Times's story as "inaccurate and factually incorrect.”

"I will not further comment on a story based on anonymous sources who are obviously biased against the department and are advancing their own personal agenda. But let me be clear about this: Based on my personal dealings with the president, there is no basis to invoke the 25th Amendment,” he said.

The 25th Amendment stipulates what steps needs to be taken if a president dies or is unable to perform his duties.

The White House confirmed Rosenstein and Trump "had an extended conversation to discuss the recent news stories" amid uncertainty about the deputy attorney general's future at the Justice Department.

Rosenstein and Trump will meet Thursday when the president returns from New York where he is participating in the UN General Assembly meetings, according to spokeswoman Sarah Sanders.