The Province

‘ENJOYING RUINING PEOPLE’S LIVES’

Trump assails Mueller following New York Times report

- ANNE FLAHERTY and JILL COLVIN

WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump pressed his criticism of special counsel Robert Mueller on Monday, accusing Mueller’s team of “enjoying ruining people’s lives” and “looking to impact the election.”

Trump’s tweets followed a New York Times report that the White House general counsel, Don McGahn, has been co-operating extensivel­y with the special counsel team investigat­ing Russian election meddling and potential collusion with Trump’s Republican campaign.

Over the weekend, Trump insisted his general counsel isn’t a “RAT” like President Richard Nixon’s and accused Mueller’s team of “looking for trouble.”

He contrasted McGahn with John Dean, the White House counsel for Nixon during the Watergate scandal. Dean ultimately co-operated with prosecutor­s and helped bring down the Nixon presidency in 1974, though he served a prison term for obstructio­n of justice.

“The failing @nytimes wrote a Fake piece today implying that because White House Councel Don McGahn was giving hours of testimony to the Special Councel, he must be a John Dean type ‘RAT,’ ” Trump wrote Sunday, misspellin­g “counsel.”

“But I allowed him and all others to testify — I didn’t have to. I have nothing to hide ...” he wrote.

On Monday, he called Mueller “disgraced and discredite­d.”

“Anybody needing that much time when they know there is no Russian Collusion is just someone looking for trouble,” he wrote. “They are enjoying ruining people’s lives and REFUSE to look at the real corruption on the Democrat side — the lies, the firings, the deleted Emails and soooo much more!”

 ?? — GETTY IMAGES ?? U.S. President Donald Trump speaks in the White House in Washington on Monday.
— GETTY IMAGES U.S. President Donald Trump speaks in the White House in Washington on Monday.

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