Don McGahn, general counsel for the Trump transition team, gets into an elevator in the lobby at Trump Tower, November 15, in New York City. President-elect Donald Trump is in the process of choosing his presidential cabinet as he transitions from a candidate to the president-elect. NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 9: Don McGahn, lawyer for Donald Trump and his campaign, leaves the Four Seasons Hotel after a meeting with Trump and Republican donors, June 9, 2016 in New York City. NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 9: Don McGahn, White House Counsel to President-elect Donald Trump, arrives at Trump Tower, January 9, 2017 in New York City. NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 15: Don McGahn, general counsel for the Trump transition team, gets into an elevator in the lobby at Trump Tower, November 15, 2016 in New York City. President-elect Donald Trump is in the process of choosing his presidential cabinet as he transitions from a candidate to the president-elect. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images) NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 15: Don McGahn, general counsel for the Trump transition team, gets into an elevator in the lobby at Trump Tower, November 15, 2016 in New York City. President-elect Donald Trump is in the process of choosing his presidential cabinet as he transitions from a candidate to the president-elect. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images) (CNN) — President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Don McGahn will leave his job as White House counsel this fall following Supreme Court Justice nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation. “White House Counsel Don McGahn will be leaving his position in the fall, shortly after the confirmation (hopefully) of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the United States Supreme Court. I have worked with Don for a long time and truly appreciate his service!” Trump tweeted. McGahn’s departure will close the book on a tumultuous relationship that has been both a boon for Trump’s agenda and a test of the limits of Trump’s executive authority. McGahn has been the key architect of Trump’s successful efforts to reshape the federal courts – sealing a lasting part of Trump’s conservative legacy – but he has also repeatedly clashed with the President over his attempts to interfere in the Justice Department’s investigation of Russian interference and any collusion with the Trump campaign. That strained relationship once again resurfaced earlier this month with the disclosure that McGahn has cooperated extensively with special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe, participating in several interviews spanning 30 hours over the last nine months. The conversations unnerved Trump, who didn’t know the full extent of McGahn’s discussions, two people familiar with his thinking said. Following the announcement of McGahn’s departure, Trump told reporters Wednesday afternoon that McGahn is a “very good man.” “Been here now it’ll be almost two years, and a lot of affection for Don,” he said, adding that McGahn will “probably” be moving on to the private sector and that “he’s done an excellent job.” Asked by CNN’s Jim Acosta whether he was concerned about what McGahn said to special counsel Robert Mueller’s team, Trump said, “No,” adding that he “knew” McGahn was going to talk to Mueller. “We didn’t claim executive (privilege). We do everything straight. We do everything by the book and Don is an excellent guy,” he said. Trump’s announcement comes as Mueller’s investigation continues to consume much of the President’s focus amid questions of potential obstruction of justice into the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election. But McGahn’s departure was anticipated before the disclosure of his extensive cooperation with Mueller’s team. Earlier this month, sources close to the White House said McGahn was likely to leave his White House post after Kavanaugh’s confirmation – with McGahn hoping to first notch a second successful Supreme Court nomination. Emmet Flood, who now directs the Russia legal strategy from inside the White House, is a potential replacement, CNN reported last week. McGahn fought to bring Flood onto the team and likes him very much, a source close to the White House said. The plan to have Flood to replace McGahn as White House counsel has been in place since Flood arrived at the White House, a source familiar with the White House legal team told CNN. The source said McGahn’s departure should surprise no one, adding that McGahn has not had a good relationship with the President for more than a year. White House chief of staff John Kelly would bring McGahn into critical meetings with Trump just to keep him in the loop, the source said, adding that it was known inside the White House that McGahn threatened to resign at one point to keep the President from firing Mueller. As for why Trump doesn’t just fire McGahn, this source said it’s typical, noting that the President “whines” about people but doesn’t fire them, such as Attorney General Jeff Sessions. The news of McGahn’s eventual departure comes amid the advancement of Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing, which is set to start in less than a week and last three or four days, according to Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley. Tumultuous tenure in White House 01:17 - Source: CNN Haberman talks McGahn and Trump relationship McGahn leaves his White House post after serving as White House counsel through the tumultuous first 18 months of Trump’s presidency, steering the White House’s handling of the Russia investigation and responding internally to the President’s mercurial moods as the investigation ballooned. His departure marks the latest of the handful of top aides who worked on the Trump campaign before joining the White House. McGahn served as the Trump campaign’s top attorney throughout the GOP primary and 2016 presidential election, becoming a trusted adviser to the future president in the process. He immediately faced controversy in his earliest days at the White House, beginning with acting Attorney General Sally Yates’ warning to McGahn that then-national security adviser Michael Flynn could be blackmailed by Russia and that he had likely lied to Vice President Mike Pence. Flynn was forced to resign after reports revealed Yates’ warning to McGahn about Flynn’s conduct.<doc-sep>WASHINGTON — President Trump surprised Donald F. McGahn II, the White House counsel, on Wednesday by abruptly announcing that Mr. McGahn will be leaving his job this fall, effectively forcing the long-anticipated exit of a top adviser who has cooperated extensively in the investigation into Russian election interference. The president made the declaration on Twitter without first informing Mr. McGahn, according to people close to both men. It came 11 days after The New York Times reported the degree to which Mr. McGahn — who was by Mr. Trump’s side at major moments as the president sought to keep control of the Russia inquiry — has emerged as a key witness in the investigation. Over the past nine months Mr. McGahn has given 30 hours of testimony in at least three voluntary interviews. Mr. McGahn’s departure leaves the White House without one of the few senior advisers who have been willing to push back against Mr. Trump. It also raised the prospect of further West Wing exits, particularly in the White House Counsel’s Office, where Mr. McGahn has had a loyal staff, with several people staying in their jobs out of devotion to him. Mr. McGahn had long discussed his intention to leave at some point, but the way Mr. Trump blindsided him with a tweet underscored how dysfunctional the relationship had become, even as the Russia inquiry appears to be reaching a critical phase, and the legal scrutiny is mounting for the president.<doc-sep>Don McGahn, the current White House Counsel, seen before a meeting with Senator Amy Klobuchar at the Hart Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C., August 21, 2018. (Alex Wroblewski/Reuters) President Trump has corroborated reports that White House Counsel Don McGahn will resign following the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. “White House Counsel Don McGahn will be leaving his position in the fall, shortly after the confirmation (hopefully) of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the United States Supreme Court,” Trump tweeted Wednesday morning. “I have worked with Don for a long time and truly appreciate his service!” Advertisement McGahn, whose impending resignation was first reported by Axios, threatened to resign last year if Trump followed through on threats to fire Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Emmet Flood, who represented Bill Clinton during his impeachment and was brought on by the Trump White House to help contend with the ongoing Russia probe, is lobbying to replace McGahn, according to Axios. Trump’s announcement comes less than two weeks after the New York Times revealed that McGahn has given more than 30 hours of recorded testimony to Mueller’s investigators. Trump, who reportedly approved of McGahn’s cooperation early in the investigation, was unaware of the extent of his testimony. McGahn, who previously served as the Trump campaignÆs top attorney, is a key witness to the presidentÆs firing of James Comey, which is reportedly being examined by Mueller’s team as evidence of possible obstruction of justice. IN THE NEWS: ‘[WATCH] North Korea’s Media Says U.S. Is Plotting Against Them’ Send a tip to the news team at NR.<doc-sep>(CNN) — Rep. Adam Schiff of California, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said Wednesday that White House Counsel Don McGahn’s resignation shows the White House is “in full attack mode on the special counsel.” “It certainly completes a full circle,” Schiff told Wolf Blitzer on CNN’s “The Situation Room,” “where the administration initially took a strategy they would cooperate with special counsel and now they’ve pushed out basically everyone that had that view.” President Donald Trump announced Wednesday on Twitter that McGahn would be leaving his position in the fall. “You saw Rudy Giuliani acknowledge just the other day that his whole goal is not to tell the truth, it’s not to be consistent, it’s merely to undermine Bob Mueller,” Schiff said. Giuliani told The New York Times, “You probably can’t do this without making a mistake or two,” but “Mueller is now slightly more distrusted than trusted, and Trump is a little ahead of the game.” “So I think we’ve done really well,” Giuliani told the Times, “and my client’s happy.” “That was not, I think, McGahn’s strategy,” Schiff said on CNN. “The President is clearly worried about what he has said, and he should be worried.” If Trump worked with McGahn to fashion a pretext for firing then-FBI Director James Comey, Schiff said, McGahn would know whether it was over the Russia probe. “McGahn would be privy to these conversations,” Schiff said. “He’d be able to say this is exactly why the President wanted to get rid of James Comey – it was all about Russia.”<doc-sep>
WASHINGTON — White House Counsel Don McGahn will leave the Trump administration this fall, the latest high-profile exit of the top members of the president’s team. President Donald Trump announced that McGahn will leave in a tweet on Wednesday morning. “White House Counsel Don McGahn will be leaving his position in the fall, shortly after the confirmation (hopefully) of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the United States Supreme Court. I have worked with Don for a long time and truly appreciate his service!” Trump wrote. White House Counsel Don McGahn will be leaving his position in the fall, shortly after the confirmation (hopefully) of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the United States Supreme Court. I have worked with Don for a long time and truly appreciate his service! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 29, 2018 McGahn’s exit will likely leave his successor to deal with Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election. If Democrats win the House or the Senate, his successor also would likely have to grapple with what is expected to be a flurry of new congressional investigations. His exit also comes after the news last week that he met with Mueller and has cooperated with the investigation. According to The New York Times, McGahn met with investigators for a total of 30 hours over the past nine months. Mueller’s team is looking into whether Trump obstructed justice in trying to end the investigation. Axios first reported on Wednesday of Mcgann’s pending exit, and reported that his preferred successor is Emmet Flood, who works in the office of the White House Counsel. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, responded to the news of McGahn’s departure by urging Trump to try to retain him. “@realdonaldtrump I hope it’s not true McGahn is leaving WhiteHouse Counsel. U can’t let that happen,” he wrote on Twitter. George Conway, the husband of Kellyanne Conway, a top adviser to Trump, tweeted back at Grassley. “Remember the eighth amendment, senator,” he wrote. The Eighth Amendment is the prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. The Times reported in January that Trump ordered Mueller to be fired in June, 2017, but McGahn threatened to quit, and the president backed down.