Politics
Associated Press/Andrew Harnik
Former White House Counsel Don McGahn arrives for a farewell ceremony for Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein in the Great Hall at the Department of Justice in Washington, Thursday, May 9, 2019.
- President Donald Trump tweeted Saturday that his former White House counsel, Don McGahn, had a "much better chance of being fired" than the special counsel Robert Mueller.
- Trump added that he was "never a big fan" of McGahn.
- Mueller's report on the Russia investigation found that Trump had repeatedly ordered McGahn to fire Mueller, but McGahn had refused to do so.
- Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee have subpoenaed McGahn for documents and testimony, but McGahn has declined to comply, deferring to the White House.
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President Donald Trump tweeted Saturday that his former White House counsel, Don McGahn, had a greater chance of being fired than the special counsel Robert Mueller.
"I was NOT going to fire Bob Mueller, and did not fire Bob Mueller. In fact, he was allowed to finish his Report with unprecedented help from the Trump Administration," he tweeted. "Actually, lawyer Don McGahn had a much better chance of being fired than Mueller. Never a big fan!"
McGahn's role in the White House during the Russia investigation has come under renewed attention in the wake of Mueller's report, for which McGahn served as a key witness.
The report found that Trump had repeatedly ordered McGahn to fire Mueller, though Trump has denied making such an order. McGahn told prosecutors he refused to fire Mueller, and also refused to release a statement denying that Trump ordered him to fire Mueller. McGahn left the White House last October.
More recently, McGahn has also declined two requests from White House officials to state publicly that he did not believe Trump obstructed justice, The New York Times reported Friday, citing two people briefed on the requests.
Though Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee have subpoenaed McGahn for documents and testimony related to the Russia investigation, McGahn's lawyer has said McGahn will not comply with the subpoena and will instead defer to the White House.
- Read more:
- The White House is blocking Don McGahn from cooperating with Congress about the Mueller probe
- White House officials asked Don McGahn to publicly say Trump didn't obstruct justice after they saw Mueller's report
- The notes of a top White House staffer became one of the keys of Robert Mueller's investigation and was cited more than 60 times in his report
- The FBI's former top lawyer said Mueller's obstruction findings are 'alarming' and show a 'pattern of corruption'