President Trump's reported order last summer to fire Justice Department special counsel Robert Mueller is all about obstruction of justice — whether it happened, and whether it could be proved.
Trump ordered White House counsel Don McGahn to fire Mueller in June, as The New York Times reported on Thursday. McGahn refused, and threatened to quit. Trump backed off.Speaking to reporters Friday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Trump dismissed the report. "Fake news. Fake news," the president said in brief remarks as he entered the conference hall. "Typical New York Times. Fake stories."
And prior to leaving for Davos, the president had told reporters he was willing to talk to Mueller's investigators under oath. Trump said he was "looking forward to it." At the time, the president also said, "There's been no collusion whatsoever. There's no obstruction whatsoever."
Still, because of the events of the past year, "it now appears likely that Mueller will conclude that Trump obstructed justice," wrote former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti on Friday. Here's the chain of events that led to now:
- Michael Flynn lies
Former national security adviser Michael Flynn is at the center of the Russia imbroglio.In January 2017, Flynn separately tells soon-to-be Vice President Mike Pence and FBI investigators about conversations he had with then-Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak earlier in the presidential transition, saying that the conversations were not related to U.S. sanctions on Russia.
Pence goes on TV and repeats those claims, but the FBI, which was monitoring the Russian ambassador's communications, knows they aren't true. Flynn has since pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI and is cooperating with Mueller's investigators.
- Sally Yates sounds the alarm
On Jan. 26, then-acting Attorney General Sally Yates meets with White House counsel McGahn to warn him the Justice Department has evidence, via the FBI surveillance, that what Pence was saying publicly was inaccurate.
She adds that because Russian diplomatic and intelligence officials also knew about the content of the conversations — and probably had their own proof of them — Flynn was vulnerable to blackmail."To state the obvious, you don't want your national security adviser compromised by the Russians," she later tells Congress.
Four days later, and after a second meeting between McGahn and Yates, Trump fires Yates. The reason given by the White House is her decision to instruct Justice Department attorneys not to defend his immigration restrictions. But subsequent events raise the question about whether Yates' dismissal also was connected to the unwelcome visit she paid to McGahn.
Either way, McGahn told Trump that Flynn had probably provided an inaccurate portrayal of events to FBI investigators, according to Trump lawyer John Dowd.
- Comey says Trump asks for loyalty; Trump fires Flynn
On Jan. 27, President Trump arranges a dinner with then-FBI Director James Comey, where, according to Comey's testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee, the president says: "I need loyalty, I expect loyalty."
Comey said he felt like the dinner was an effort on the part of the president to have him ask for his job and "create some sort of patronage relationship."
Trump has denied asking Comey for a loyalty pledge.
Meanwhile, the spin cycle continues to churn about Flynn's discussions with Kislyak, accounts of which were leaked to the Washington Post. About two weeks later, on Feb. 13, Trump fires Flynn.
The very next day, according to Comey, he visited the Oval Office for a meeting with Trump and advisers. Afterward, the president cleared the room of everyone except him and the FBI director.
"I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go. He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go," Comey says Trump said.
Comey says he would not agree to let it go.
Source- https://www.npr.org/2018/01/26/580964814/the-10-events-you-need-to-know-to-understand-the-almost-firing-of-robert-mueller
Not indicating that the content you copy/paste is not your original work could be seen as plagiarism.
Some tips to share content and add value:
Repeated plagiarized posts are considered spam. Spam is discouraged by the community, and may result in action from the cheetah bot.
If you are actually the original author, please do reply to let us know!
Thank You!
More Info: Abuse Guide - 2017.