Embattled official in Russia probe to meet Trump

Donald Trump will meet this week with the deputy attorney general overseeing the probe into the president's alleged collusion with Russia, the White House said Monday after reports that Rod Rosenstein was about to resign or be fired.

Rosenstein's job has looked untenable since last week's bombshell publication of reports that he had discussed ways to remove Trump from office, due to incompetence.

"At the request of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, he and president Trump had an extended conversation to discuss the recent news stories," the White House spokeswoman, Sarah Sanders, said.

"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, DC," she said in a statement.

The White House statement neither confirmed nor put to rest mounting rumors that Rosenstein is on the way out.

The departure of Rosenstein -- possibly giving Trump an opportunity to get more of a loyalist as a replacement -- would dramatically rock the probe into whether Russia conspired with Trump's campaign to aid his 2016 shock presidential election victory.

Rosenstein plays a key role in overseeing the high-powered investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, which Trump calls a politically motivated "witch hunt." Even prior to last week's hugely embarrassing reports,