Trump Asked Lawyer to Deter Sessions From Recusal

by Dramelin 2:30 AM 0 comments

President Donald Trump directed top White House lawyer Don McGahn to persuade Attorney General Jeff Sessions not to recuse himself last spring from the Justice Department’s investigation into Russian election meddling, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The exchange between Sessions and McGahn, which was first reported by the New York Times, took place after reports that Sessions had a previously undisclosed meeting with Sergey Kislyak, Russia’s ambassador to the U.
, during the 2016 presidential campaign.
The revelation caused Democrats to call for Sessions to recuse himself from the investigation, saying the meeting posed a conflict of interest.
  McGahn was unsuccessful in his lobbying of Sessions and on March 2, Sessions announced his recusal from the investigation.
That decision ultimately led to the appointment of Robert Mueller as special counsel, leading an inquiry that includes looking into whether Trump tried to interfere in the election-meddling investigation by firing Federal Bureau of Investigation director James Comey.
  The top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee said the efforts by McGahn show Trump tried to interfere in the investigation, and called on the lawyer to testify before the panel.
McGahn’s actions under Mr.
Trump’s orders in either case would appear to be yet another incident pointing to an overall effort to obstruct and undermine the Department of Justice," Representative Jerrold Nadler, a New York Democrat, said Thursday night in a statement.
Walter Shaub, who headed the Office of Government Ethics until last July, wrote in a tweet that McGahn’s interference in Session’s decision "infuriates me.
" "I am outraged by McGahn undermining the rule of law in the country I love," Shaub wrote.
"While McGahn was demanding Sessions’ break the law, I was on the other line with DOJ demanding Sessions recuse.
What I think of your attack on America, McGahn, isn’t fit to print.
" White House lawyer Ty Cobb declined to comment.
A lawyer for McGahn didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.