| August 30, 2018 |
| 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. Unlike some less-amiable separations, however, Trump praised McGahn as “a really good guy” who has done “an excellent job.” 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 has also 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. |
| Posted by CNN at 12:29 PM |
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