David Axelrod actually said...

"When you have the president's own appointee as director of the FBI, when you have his Justice Department and when you have his director of national intelligence all urging the president not to release..."

"It might be to make the case that Rosenstein should be removed because one way to limit this investigation would be to remove him and put someone else in charge of that investigation."

"I think the circus thing, I think it's an important thing to remember. Because I do think that part of the strategy of the White House is to try and turn the entire discussion into a partisan circus."

"The notion that a President would overrule his own FBI director, the guy he appointed, his own appointee at the Justice Department, both of whom have warned that this was reckless, dangerous, had pote..."