Rod Rosenstein job appears safe after 'great' meeting with Trump on Air Force One

Deputy attorney had faced speculation that president was about to fire him

Donald Trump has said had a “great” meeting with Rod Rosenstein aboard Air Force One following weeks of speculation that he was going to fire the deputy attorney general.

Rumours have abounded in recent weeks that the president was set to fire the second highest ranking official in the US Justice Department and the man charged with overseeing the investigation into alleged collusion between Mr Trump’s presidential campaign team and Russian officials.

The speculation about his position mounted after The New York Times reported that he had discussed recruiting cabinet members to invoke the 25th amendment of the US constitution, which provides for the removal of a president if he is deemed unfit for office. It also claimed that he had suggested secretly recording Mr Trump to expose White House turmoil and dysfunction.

Mr Rosenstein called the allegations "inaccurate and factually incorrect".

Following his meeting with Mr Trump White House spokesman Hogan Gidley confirmed the pair had spoken for approximately 30 minutes.

The White House did not disclose any details about the conversation but noted the pair were not alone in the room.

When asked earlier in the day if he had plans to sack Mr Rosenstein, Mr Trump replied quickly: “No, I don’t”.

He said that the pair had a “good relationship,” adding: "I didn't know Rod before, but I've gotten to know him, and I get along very well with him”.

The president has saved much of his ire for Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who recused himself from the Russia probe because he was a member of Mr Trump's campaign team.

Sacking Mr Rosenstein or special counsel in charge of the FBI investigation Robert Mueller, less than a month ahead of the 6 November mid-term elections would have led to severe criticism from Democrats, some political commentators have claimed.