Trump’s aides tried to argue that the meeting with Mueller, along with the fact that Mueller was a former member of one of Trump’s golf courses, created a conflict of interest for the special counsel, a claim that made little sense. When that effort to disqualify him failed, Trump tried to grab control of the investigation by directing McGahn to tell officials to remove Mueller, which McGahn refused to go along with, and prepared to resign. Trump, still uncertain about how the White House functioned, did not go any further.
