Mueller Time! Special Counsel has a draft letter that could sink the SS Trump
Why is this man smiling?
Could it be that The Donald’s White House counsel advised him not to send a certain letter – and now Robert Mueller has it?
Was a certain someone in the Oval Office trying to, say, obstruct justice? As we keep saying, it would be irresponsible not to ask!
The special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, has obtained a letter that President Trump and a top political aide drafted in the days before Mr. Trump fired the F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, which explains the president’s rationale for why he planned to dismiss the director.
The May letter had been met with opposition from Donald F. McGahn II, the White House counsel, who believed that some of its contents were problematic, according to interviews with a dozen administration officials and others briefed on the matter.
Mr. McGahn successfully blocked the president from sending Mr. Comey the letter, which Mr. Trump had composed with Stephen Miller, one of the president’s top political advisers. A different letter, written by the deputy attorney general, Rod J. Rosenstein, and focused on Mr. Comey’s handling of the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private email server, was ultimately sent to the F.B.I. director on the day he was fired.
WaPo has a slightly more elaborate description of the mystery letter than NYT:
The multi-page letter enumerated Trump’s long-simmering complaints with Comey, according to people familiar with it, including Trump’s frustration that Comey was unwilling to say publicly that Trump was not personally under investigation in the FBI’s inquiry into Russian meddling in the 2016 election. …
The letter, which was first reported by the New York Times, as well as internal White House communications before Comey’s ouster, could now become key evidence for Mueller as he examines whether the Comey firing was part of an effort to obstruct the Russia investigation. …
“I can’t comment on anything the special counsel might be interested in,” White House attorney Ty Cobb said. “But this White House is committed to being open and transparent with the special counsel’s investigation.”
And we can win the war in Afghanistan!
The big parlor game double-header this afternoon in the Beltway and among the political junkie digerati is just who forked the draft letter over to Mueller’s office – and who leaked the news to NYT and WaPo. One thing is clear: after yesterday’s smoking Manafort smartphone note revelation, the SC looks to be pursuing evidence of both obstruction and money laundering – and likely other potential crimes.
