Chapter 785 of Trump doesn’t know what the rules are and he doesn’t care either. CNN reports:

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein visited the White House in December seeking President Donald Trump’s help. The top Justice Department official in the Russia investigation wanted Trump’s support in fighting off document demands from House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes.

But the President had other priorities ahead of a key appearance by Rosenstein on the Hill, according to sources familiar with the meeting. Trump wanted to know where the special counsel’s Russia investigation was heading. And he wanted to know whether Rosenstein was “on my team.”

We know he’s been told repeatedly that the whole entire Justice Department is purposely and carefully not on any team, because it’s the Justice Department.

The episode is the latest to come to light portraying a President whose inquiries sometimes cross a line that presidents traditionally have tried to avoid when dealing with the Justice Department, for which a measure of independence is key. The exchange could raise further questions about whether Trump was seeking to interfere in the investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller, who is looking into potential collusion by the Trump campaign with Russia and obstruction of justice by the White House.

He’s been doing this all along, like any small town hoodlum: taking people aside and demanding to know if they’re “loyal” to him and going to do whatever he tells them to no matter what.

The meeting happened shortly before Rosenstein was supposed to talk to the House Judiciary Committee. Trump was all worked up about that, and grilled Rosenstein about it. He’d also come up with proposed questions for the Committee to ask Rosenstein.

One line of inquiry Trump proposed lawmakers ask about was whether Rosenstein appointed Mueller as special counsel to investigate Russian meddling in the 2016 election because Mueller was not selected as FBI director. CNN has reported that Trump has been venting to his aides about Rosenstein in recent weeks and even raised the possibility of his removal. Sources say Trump believes Rosenstein was upset Mueller wasn’t selected as FBI director and responded by making him special counsel. It does not appear those questions were asked of Rosenstein at the hearing.

Probably because it sounds so junior high school. “Do you like Mueller more than Donnie?? Do you?!?”

At the hearing, Rosenstein repeatedly declined to say whether Trump had ever asked him about the Russia Investigation. But he testified that he never received any “improper orders” from Trump and denied that anyone ever asked him to pledge his loyalty, dating back to his time in the Bush administration.

“Nobody has asked me to take a loyalty pledge, other than the oath of office,” Rosenstein said.

Sooo if this story is accurate then he wasn’t entirely telling the truth. Asking “are you on my team?” is asking for a loyalty pledge, surely.

While searching for Comey’s replacement, Trump interviewed acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe. Trump asked McCabe who he voted for during that interview, according to a source familiar with the matter. McCabe did not vote for president in the 2016 general election but did vote in the Republican primary in Virginia, sources told CNN. Trump has publicly denied that he asked McCabe who he voted for.

Seven months later, Rosenstein made his pitch in the December meeting with the President, asking for White House backing as the Justice Department sought to deny access to sensitive documents demanded by Nunes, who has spent months pursuing claims of surveillance abuses by the FBI and the Justice Department against the Trump campaign.