President slams McGahn firing report
Trump: Counsel not forced out by Ivanka, Kushner
WASHINGTON — Departing White House Counsel Don McGahn was not forced out by Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, President Donald Trump contended Thursday.
The president started the day with several tweets lashing out at “Fake News Media,” which he dubbed “totally dishonest” and an “Enemy of the People.”
But one article in particular seemed to irk him: a Wednesday New York Times piece, citing multiple sources, that his daughter and son-in-law forced McGahn out of his post as the White House’s top lawyer.
The newspaper reported that McGahn “had been a frequent target of Mr. Trump’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, and son-in-law, Jared Kushner.” And the patriarch in chief noticed.
The president used one tweet to tease that he has a replacement for McGahn, and to contend that the top White House lawyer did not, as has been reported, convince him to opt against firing Attorney General Jeff Sessions and special counsel Robert S. Mueller.
On Wednesday, Trump said on Twitter that McGahn would step down after the Senate votes on the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court.
While he praised McGahn for his service Wednesday, Trump’s tweet Thursday uses the past tense — “I liked Don,” Trump wrote.
McGahn met extensively with Mueller’s team, and is an important potential witness regarding whether Trump obstructed justice when he fired FBI Director James Comey.
On Wednesday, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said there is “really not” a major reason McGahn is leaving this fall.
“He’s worked for the president for a long time,” she said. “They have a good relationship. There’s really not a lot to add here.”