White House counsel to exit
Trump catches aides by surprise; adviser talked to Mueller
President Donald Trump surprises Don McGahn, the White House counsel, with an abrupt announcement that McGahn will be departing his post this fall, effectively forcing the long-anticipated exit.
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump surprised Don McGahn, the White House counsel, on Wednesday with an abrupt announcement that McGahn will be departing his post this fall, effectively forcing the long-anticipated exit of a top adviser who has cooperated extensively in the investigation into Russian election interference.
The president made the declaration on Twitter without first informing McGahn, according to people close to both men. It came 11 days after the New York Times reported the degree to which McGahn — who was by Trump’s side at major moments as the president sought to keep control over the Russia inquiry — has emerged as a key witness in the investigation. McGahn has cooperated extensively with prosecutors, who are scrutinizing whether the president tried to obstruct the investigation.
In his tweet Wednesday morning, Trump said McGahn would leave this fall after the Senate votes on the confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to fill the vacant seat on the Supreme Court, the culmination of a quiet but intensive effort he has directed to remake the federal courts by installing scores of conservative judges.
“I have worked with Don for a long time and truly appreciate his service!” Trump said in the Twitter post.
But the relationship between the president and McGahn has been rocky since he failed to stop Attorney General Jeff Sessions from recusing himself a year ago from the Justice Department’s investigation.
The two men also clashed last June after Trump asked McGahn to fire special counsel Robert Mueller. Trump ultimately backed down after McGahn threatened to resign rather than carry out the president’s directive.
The president’s tweet was precipitated by a report on the Axios website that McGahn planned to leave after Kavanaugh’s confirmation process. Trump had grown tired of seeing reports that McGahn might leave, according to people familiar with his thinking.
But McGahn, who had been a frequent target of Trump’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, and son-inlaw, Jared Kushner, believed the story was planted by his critics to force the president’s hand and hasten the timeline of announcing his departure.
Ivanka Trump complained bitterly to her father about the Times report this month, which detailed how some in the White House were unaware of the extent of McGahn’s cooperation with Mueller, according to a person briefed on the discussion.
On Wednesday afternoon at the White House, Trump praised McGahn and said he had nothing to fear about what his counsel had told Mueller, even as he appeared to confirm he was not completely aware what that was.
“I don’t have to be aware,” Trump said. “We do everything straight. We do everything by the book. And Don is an excellent guy.”
Attorneys for Paul Manafort are asking to have his coming money laundering and conspiracy trial moved from Washington, D.C., to Roanoke, Va., arguing his fraud convictions in Alexandria, Va, this month worsened pretrial publicity in the nation’s capital.
In court filings Wednesday, his defense team also claimed a more pro-Republican jury, as they believe would be found in Roanoke, would decide his case more fairly. That repeats an argument the Manafort defense made, and lost, in asking to move his Virginia case out of Alexandria.
The defense for President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman told a federal judge in Washington. Manafort “has become an unwilling player in the larger drama” between Trump and special counsel Robert Mueller and asserted that nowhere are potential jurors more biased against him than in the District because of its partisan makeup and saturation of political news.
There was no indication when the judge would rule on the motion.