NATO REPORTS RUSSIAN NAVAL BUILDUP AMID SYRIA TENSIONS White House counsel McGahn leaving

Top lawyer served as main point of contact for Mueller’s investigation

Brussels — NATO says the Russian navy is building up its presence in the Mediterranean Sea amid growing tensions over the war in Syria. Russia has provided crucial military support for Syrian government forces, which are expected to mount an offensive in the northern Idlib province, the last major rebel stronghold in the country. “We will not speculate on the intention of the Russian fleet, but it is important that all actors in the region exercise restraint and refrain from worsening an already disastrous humanitarian situation in Syria,” NATO’s chief spokeswoman, Oana Lungescu, said Wednesday.

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Washington — White House counsel Don McGahn, a consequential insider in President Donald Trump’s legal storms and successes and a key figure in the administration’s handling of the Russia investigation, will be leaving in the fall, the president announced Wednesday.

McGahn’s exit continues the churn of top officials as the administration sets records for turnover and the White House struggles to fill key vacancies.

Unlike some less-amiable separations, however, Trump praised McGahn as “a really good guy” who has done “an excellent job.”

Trump said McGahn’s departure had nothing to do with his interviews with the special counsel investigating possible Trump campaign collusion with Russia in the 2016 election.

Pressed by reporters, Trump said he had approved the attorney’s interviews and was unconcerned about anything McGahn might tell prosecutors.

“We do everything straight,” he said. “We do everything by the book.”

The departure of Trump’s top lawyer, which has been expected, will create a vacancy in one of the most critical — and yet least visible — positions within the West Wing. Besides dealing with special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, McGahn has had important input on a range of issues from policy to personnel to national security.

He will remain at the White House until after the expected Senate confirmation vote for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, Trump said in a tweet.

McGahn, a top election lawyer who served as general counsel on Trump’s campaign, has played a pivotal role in the president’s remaking of the federal judiciary with young, conservative judges.

He also helped guide Trump’s selection of Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch and the president’s nomination of Kavanaugh and helped oversee a dramatic rollback of Obama-era regulations.

But McGahn’s time also has been marked by tumult as he has been the main point of contact inside the White House for Mueller’s investigation. He has met with investigators on at least three occasions for many hours at a time and threatened to resign last year if Trump continued to press for Mueller’s removal.

Trump’s announcement came more than a week after a New York Times report that McGahn had been cooperating extensively with Mueller’s investigation into Russian election meddling and possible collusion with Trump’s Republican campaign.

“We do everything straight. We do everything by the book.” PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP