Blockbuster news coming out of The New York Times tonight about the Special Prosecutor investigation has Washington rocked. The report states that Donald Trump attempted to fire Robert Muller in June of 2017, just a month after he was nominated into the position.
Why did he back down? Because the White House counsel, Don McGahn, threatened to resign versus carry out the order.
WOW.
Although rumors of Trump's desire to fire Mueller have been out there since the first day, this is the first hard evidence that Trump actively tried to fire the special counsel. It also adds further fuel to the fire about Trump's continued efforts to obstruct justice.
So why did McGahn threaten to resign? The New York Times reports that "firing Mr. Mueller would have a catastrophic impact on the presidency and would raise more questions about whether the White House was trying to obstruct the Russia investigation."
When contacted for a statement, Ty Cobb, the attorney working most closely with Mueller's office, said:
“We decline to comment out of respect for the Office of the Special Counsel and its process.”
Interesting to see how the Republicans spin this. Innocent people always try to fire the people investigating them, right? Nothing to hide.
Update:
This would appear to corroborate the story...at least, circumstantially.
