On Saturday, June 17, 2017, the President called McGahn and directed him to have the Special Counsel removed.
On Saturday, June 17, 2017, the President called McGahn and directed him to have the Special Counsel removed. 1854 McGahn was at home and the President was at Camp David. 1855 In interviews with this Office, McGahn recalled that the President called him at home twice and on both occasions directed him to call Rosenstein and say that Mueller had conflicts that precluded him from serving as Special Counsel. 1856
Footnotes
1854. McGahn 3/ 8/ 18 302, at 1-2; McGahn 12/ 14/ 17 302, at 10.
1855. McGahn 3/ 8/ 18 302, at 1, 3; SCR026_000196 (President’s Daily Diary, 6/ 17/ 17) (records showing President departed the White House at 11: 07 a.m. on June 17, 2017, and arrived at Camp David at 11: 37 a.m.).
1856. McGahn 3/ 8/ 18 302, at 1-2; McGahn 12/ 14/ 17 302, at 10. Phone records show that the President called McGahn in the afternoon on June 17, 2017, and they spoke for approximately 23 minutes. SCR026_000196 (President’s Daily Diary, 6/ 17/ 17) (reflecting call from the President to McGahn on 6/ 17/ 17 with start time 2: 23 p.m. and end time 2: 46 p.m.); (Call Records of Don McGahn). Phone records do not show another call between McGahn and the President that day. Although McGahn recalled receiving multiple calls from the President on the same day, in light of the phone records he thought it was possible that the first call instead occurred on June 14, 2017, shortly after the press reported that the President was under investigation for obstruction of justice. McGahn 2/ 28/ 19 302, at 1-3. While McGahn was not certain of the specific dates of the calls, McGahn was confident that he had at least two phone conversations with the President in which the President directed him to call the Acting Attorney General to have the Special Counsel removed. McGahn 2/ 28/ 19 302, at 1-3.
