counsel robert mueller? >> certainly believes he has the power to do so. >> press secretary sarah sanders did not suggest president trump is, in fact, planning to fire mueller. cnn has learned the president has been talking about it for months. we know he made moves to fire mueller last june but was talked out of it. just yesterday "the new york times" reported there was a second aborted effort to fire the special counsel in december. that move fueled by reports that mueller issued subpoenas for deutsche bank, that proved to be inaccurate. now to the white house and pamela brown. >> reporter: good morning. our team has learned the president's consideration of firing rod rosenstein has gained urgency following the raid of the president's personal lawyer, michael cohen. sources familiar with the matter say this is one of several options including going so far as to fire attorney general jeff sessions, as well, that trump has been weighing officials say