Presidential Power Gets a Booster Shot, No Matter Mueller's View
- McGahn’s cooperation may have defused bruising legal battle
- White House counsel avoided Watergate mistake that sank Nixon
The presidential seal is seen on a podium at the White House.
Photographer: Joshua Roberts/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
President Donald Trump was never called to account for a Saturday night massacre. Nor was he called to testify before Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
That’s in part because of a deft maneuver by Donald McGahn, whose actions as White House chief counsel were among the more significant disclosures in the newly released Mueller report. McGahn flatly refused to take any step to remove Mueller as Trump fumed over the Russia investigation in his first year as president.