Why it’s important: Mr. Mueller’s team never got Mr. Trump to sit down for a formal interview. Instead, the president submitted written responses, vetted by his lawyers, to questions from the special counsel. In July 2017, however, Mr. Trump spoke to these three reporters from The New York Times. The Mueller report seizes upon the president’s remarks to The Times about Attorney General Jeff Sessions and his efforts to get Mr. Sessions to withdraw his recusal and reassert control over the Russia inquiry.
The Washington Post
Special counsel is investigating Trump for possible obstruction of justice, officials say
By Devlin Barrett, Adam Entous, Ellen Nakashima and Sari Horwitz
Where it shows up: Vol. 2, Pages 84-85
Key quote from the report: “On the evening of June 14, 2017, the Washington Post published an article stating that the Special Counsel was investigating whether the President had attempted to obstruct justice. […] On Saturday, June 17, 2017, the President called McGahn and directed him to have the Special Counsel removed.”
Why it’s important: The Washington Post’s reporting that the special counsel’s investigation had expanded into questions of obstruction seemed to have agitated the president. Only two days after The Post’s publication of its story, Mr. Trump called his White House counsel, Donald F. McGahn II, at home from Camp David, directing him to fire the special counsel.
The New York Times
Trump Ordered Mueller Fired, but Backed Off When White House Counsel Threatened to Quit
By Michael S. Schmidt and Maggie Haberman
Where it shows up: Vol. 2, Pages 113-116
Key quote from the report: “The President began the Oval Office meeting by telling McGahn that the New York Times story did not ‘look good’ and McGahn needed to correct it. McGahn recalled the President said, ‘I never said to fire Mueller. I never said “fire.” This story doesn’t look good. You need to correct this. You’re the White House counsel.’”
Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/20/reader-center/mueller-report-press-citations.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
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