The White House’s top lawyer has cooperated extensively with the special counsel investigating Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election, sharing detailed accounts about the episodes at the heart of the inquiry into whether President Donald Trump obstructed justice, The New York Times reported on Saturday.
The White House’s top lawyer has cooperated extensively with the special counsel investigating Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election, sharing detailed accounts about the episodes at the heart of the inquiry into whether President Donald Trump obstructed justice, The New York Times reported on Saturday.
Citing a dozen current and former White House officials and others briefed on the matter, the paper said White House Counsel Donald McGahn had shared information, some of which the investigators would not have known about.
‘Instructed to cooperate’
On Saturday evening, Mr. McGahn’s lawyer confirmed that the White House counsel had cooperated with Robert Mueller’s team. “Mr. McGahn answered the Special Counsel team’s questions fulsomely and honestly,” William Burck said, explaining that the President did not ask Mr. McGahn to refrain from discussing any matters.
Also on Saturday, Mr. Trump tweeted that he had encouraged Mr. McGahn and White House staff to cooperate with investigators.
According to The New York Times, Mr. McGahn in at least three voluntary interviews with investigators that totalled 30 hours over the past nine months, described Mr. Trump’s furore toward the Russia investigation and the ways in which the President urged Mr. McGahn to respond to it.
The newspaper reported Mr. McGahn’s motivation to speak with the special counsel as an unusual move that was in response to a decision by Mr. Trump’s first team of lawyers to cooperate fully. But it said another motivation was Mr. McGahn’s fear that he could be placed in legal jeopardy because of decisions made in the White House that could be construed as obstruction of justice.
Mr. McGahn, the newspaper said, shared information on Mr. Trump’s comments and actions during the firing of the FBI Director, James Comey, and the President’s obsession with putting a loyalist in charge of the inquiry.
Attempts to fire Mueller
The newspaper said Mr. McGahn was also centrally involved in Mr. Trump’s attempts to fire the special counsel, Robert Mueller, which investigators might not have discovered without him. Mr. McGahn cautioned to investigators that he never saw Mr. Trump go beyond his legal authorities.
A source close to the President told Reuters on Saturday that the extent of Mr. McGahn’s cooperation was “a tactical or strategic mistake” instigated by Mr. Trump’s first legal team and it should not have been allowed to happen because Mr. McGahn should have been covered by executive privilege.
One lawyer familiar with the matter said Mr. McGahn could have been subpoenaed to testify to the grand jury if he did not cooperate with Mr. Mueller voluntarily and might have lost legal battles if he tried to invoke executive privilege.
Mr. Trump’s former personal lawyer, John Dowd, told Reuters on Saturday that he was aware Mr. McGahn had spoken extensively with Mr. Mueller’s team.
“Lot to cover,” Mr. Dowd said in text message. “Did a great job. McGahn was a strong witness for the President according to Burck and debriefs of DM (Donald McGahn). Not aware of any of the alleged apprehensions manufactured by the NYT.”
After the story was published on Saturday, Mr. Trump tweeted that he had told White House staff to cooperate.
Rudy Giuliani, part of Mr. Trump’s legal team, said on Saturday that Mr. McGahn’s cooperation with Mr. Mueller was part of a legal strategy. As an officer of the court, he added, Mr. McGahn would have had to resign if he thought the President did anything illegal.