Trump Almost Fired Special Counsel Robert Mueller

The NYT has learned that in June 2017, Donald Trump wanted to fire Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating Russian interference in the US presidential election. Mueller is also going to question Trump himself in this case.

• The firing was prevented by Trump's lawyer Donald McGahn, who threatened to follow Mueller after the order to fire him. The campaign's top lawyer convinced Trump that the decision would have a disastrous effect on his presidency and would look like an attempt by the White House to influence the investigation.
• Trump believed that the special counsel could not handle the Russian interference case because of conflicts of interest. For example, the president recalled that in 2011, Mueller resigned from Trump’s golf club because of high membership dues, he also worked at a law firm that was used by Trump’s daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner, and the day before he was appointed special counsel, Mueller was offered the chance to return to the post of FBI director, where he worked from 2001 to 2013.
• Several of Mueller's investigators supported Democrats, and despite the prosecutor's reputation for impartiality, Trump supporters accused him of trying to take down the president.
• Mueller learned of his possible dismissal only months ago, when his investigators spoke with White House officials. Since the arrival of lawyer Ty Cobb, who has known Mueller for years, Trump has had to change tactics. The lawyer convinced the president that standing up to him would only increase tensions, and that he needed to cooperate.
• Robert Mueller was tasked with investigating interference in the US elections, including the Trump campaign’s ties to Russian intelligence services in the spring of 2017. Last fall, the first documents from Mueller’s investigation were released , showing that the greatest potential threat to Trump’s presidency was posed by campaign foreign policy advisers Michael Flynn and George Papadopoulos. Both were accused of contacts with Russian officials.
• Flynn pleaded guilty to perjury and made a plea deal. He first testified against his former boss, claiming that all communications with Russian officials were carried out on the personal instructions of members of Trump's campaign staff.

What do I get out of this?

Mueller is set to question Trump soon – the questions will concern the firing of former FBI Director James Comey, whom Trump tried to pressure in connection with the investigation into Flynn. If you are waiting for the continuation of the House of Cards series, real events in the US can brighten up this wait.

Marina Bocharova, The Bell