Legal experts fire back at Trump's misleading rant on McGahn and Mueller investigation
Former White House Counsel Don McGahn has been on President Donald Trump’s mind a lot this week. The president has been vowing to fight a Democratic House of Representatives subpoena of McGahn, discussing the matter in a Thursday rant on Twitter that quickly received a barrage of negative responses from legal experts.
The president posted, “As has been incorrectly reported by the Fake News Media, I never told then White House Counsel Don McGahn to fire Robert Mueller, even though I had the legal right to do so. If I wanted to fire Mueller, I didn’t need McGahn to do it, I could have done it myself. Nevertheless, Mueller was NOT fired and was respectfully allowed to finish his work on what I, and many others, say was an illegal investigation (there was no crime), headed by a Trump hater who was highly conflicted, and a group of 18 VERY ANGRY Democrats. DRAIN THE SWAMP!”
Trump, to be sure, didn’t expect McGahn to directly fire Mueller himself; as White House counsel, McGahn didn’t have that power. But Trump did ask McGahn to tell Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to fire Mueller.
Mimi Rocah, a legal analyst for MSNBC, tweeted that Trump’s “executive privilege” arguments are “100% gone now”:
To the extent he had any argument about executive privilege (which was clearly already waived) it’s 100% gone now.… https://t.co/OIRn68b70f— Mimi Rocah (@Mimi Rocah)1556198379.0
Steve Vladeck noted that McGahn wasn’t about to lie under oath:
What’s more likely? That Don McGahn lied in a situation in which lying would be a felony (and would subject him t… https://t.co/QqWKePMGq7— Steve Vladeck (@Steve Vladeck)1556197828.0
Elie Honig asserted that Trump’s tweet shows just how “scared” he is of McGahn:
Like I said in last night’s tweet and this week’s #CrossExam @CNN: somebody is very scared of Don McGahn. Exhibit A… https://t.co/nSym9j9wyo— Elie Honig (@Elie Honig)1556194562.0
Susan Hennessey, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, tweeted:
The president accuses his former White House Counsel of making criminal false statements to investigators. Seems li… https://t.co/JgkInPAMrZ— Susan Hennessey (@Susan Hennessey)1556194999.0
Attorney Bradley P. Moss, known for his expertise on national security, posted:
Witness intimidation https://t.co/aNbor6MG8D— Bradley P. Moss (@Bradley P. Moss)1556193145.0
Renato Marioti, a former federal prosecutor, complained that Trump was being deceptive about “basic facts”:
There is ample evidence to the contrary, as Mueller found. Even now, when he claims “full exoneration,” Trump choos… https://t.co/Jm5pKg3OSo— Renato Mariotti (@Renato Mariotti)1556193675.0
J.W. Verret, an associate professor at the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University, chastised Trump for questioning McGahn’s honesty:
You are calling Don McGahn a liar. But at the same time you are forbidding him from responding in congressional te… https://t.co/FxSLNrkNR2— Prof. J.W. Verret, JD, CPA (@Prof. J.W. Verret, JD, CPA)1556194203.0
