Trump Spoke to Witnesses About Matters They Discussed With Special Counsel
- 6 years ago
Trump Spoke to Witnesses About Matters They Discussed With Special Counsel
The article said Mr. McGahn told investigators that the president once asked him to fire the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III.
Mr. Trump’s interactions with Mr. McGahn unfolded in the days after the Jan. 25 Times article, which said
that Mr. McGahn threatened to quit last June after the president asked him to fire the special counsel.
Mr. Porter, who resigned last month amid a domestic abuse scandal, told Mr. McGahn the president had suggested he might
“get rid of” Mr. McGahn if he chose not to challenge the article, the people briefed on the conversation said.
After the article was published, the White House staff secretary, Rob Porter, told Mr. McGahn
that the president wanted him to release a statement saying that the story was not true, the people said.
Mr. McGahn never released a statement and later had to remind the president
that he had indeed asked Mr. McGahn to see that Mr. Mueller was dismissed, the people said.
Mr. McGahn replied that the president was wrong and
that he had in fact asked Mr. McGahn in June to call the deputy attorney general, Rod J. Rosenstein, to tell him that the special counsel had a series of conflicts that disqualified him for overseeing the investigation and that he had to be dismissed.
By MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT and MAGGIE HABERMANMARCH 7, 2018
WASHINGTON — The special counsel in the Russia investigation has learned of two conversations in recent months in which President Trump
asked key witnesses about matters they discussed with investigators, according to three people familiar with the encounters.
The article said Mr. McGahn told investigators that the president once asked him to fire the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III.
Mr. Trump’s interactions with Mr. McGahn unfolded in the days after the Jan. 25 Times article, which said
that Mr. McGahn threatened to quit last June after the president asked him to fire the special counsel.
Mr. Porter, who resigned last month amid a domestic abuse scandal, told Mr. McGahn the president had suggested he might
“get rid of” Mr. McGahn if he chose not to challenge the article, the people briefed on the conversation said.
After the article was published, the White House staff secretary, Rob Porter, told Mr. McGahn
that the president wanted him to release a statement saying that the story was not true, the people said.
Mr. McGahn never released a statement and later had to remind the president
that he had indeed asked Mr. McGahn to see that Mr. Mueller was dismissed, the people said.
Mr. McGahn replied that the president was wrong and
that he had in fact asked Mr. McGahn in June to call the deputy attorney general, Rod J. Rosenstein, to tell him that the special counsel had a series of conflicts that disqualified him for overseeing the investigation and that he had to be dismissed.
By MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT and MAGGIE HABERMANMARCH 7, 2018
WASHINGTON — The special counsel in the Russia investigation has learned of two conversations in recent months in which President Trump
asked key witnesses about matters they discussed with investigators, according to three people familiar with the encounters.