Don Mc Gahn to Leave White House Counsel Job This Fall, TrumpSays
Donald F. McGahn II, as the White House counsel, hasbeen known for his willingness to say no to President Trump.CreditDougMills/The New York Times
WASHINGTON — President Trump surprised Donald F.McGahn II, the White House counsel, on Wednesday by abruptly announcing thatMr. 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. 如愿以偿让这名高级顾问退出，该顾问深度参与了调查俄罗斯干预美国事件。
The president made the declaration on Twitter withoutfirst informing Mr. McGahn, according to people close to both men. It came 11days 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 keepcontrol of the Russia inquiry — has emerged as a key witness in theinvestigation. Over the past nine months Mr. McGahn has given 30 hours oftestimony 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. 麦克格恩的离职让白宫失去了一位本就为数不多的愿意反击特朗普的高级顾问。
It also raised the prospect of further WestWing exits, particularly in the White House Counsel’s Office, where Mr. McGahnhas had a loyal staff, with several people staying in their jobs out ofdevotion to him.
Mr. McGahn had long discussed his intention to leaveat some point, but the way Mr. Trump blindsided him with a tweet underscoredhow dysfunctional the relationship had become, even as the Russia inquiryappears to be reaching a critical phase, and the legal scrutiny is mounting forthe president.
Mr. Trump’s decision did not appear to be a directresponse to the disclosure that Mr. McGahn had been cooperating closely withthe special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III — a fact his team was aware of —
though its timing inevitably led toquestions about whether the president was cutting loose an aidewho he believed had provided damaging informationabout him. 尽管这一时机不可避免地引发了人们的疑问：总统是否在削减一名助手，因为他认定这名助手对外提供了不利于他的信息。
But Wednesday afternoon at the White House, Mr. Trumppraised Mr. McGahn and said he had nothing to fear about what his counsel hadtold Mr. Mueller, even as he appeared to confirm that he was not completelyaware what that was.
“I don’t have to be aware,” he said. “We do everythingstraight. We do everything by the book. And Don is an excellent guy.”
In his tweet Wednesday morning, Mr. Trump said
Mr.McGahn would leave after the Senate votes on the confirmation of Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh to fill the vacant seat on the Supreme Court, 麦高恩将在参议院投票确认法官布雷特m卡瓦诺进入最高法院后离开。
the culmination of a quiet but intensive effort he has directed to remake thefederal courts by installing scores of conservative judges.
“I have worked with Don for a long time and trulyappreciate his service!” Mr. Trump said in the Twitter post.
But the relationship between the president and Mr. McGahn has been rocky since he failed to stop the attorney general 司法部长, Jeff Sessions, from recusing himself a year ago fromtheJustice Department’s 司法部门 investigation. The two men also clashed again last June after Mr. Trump askedMr. McGahn to fire Mr. Mueller. Mr. Trump ultimately backed down after Mr.McGahn threatened to resign rather than carry out the president’s directive而不是执行总统的命令.
Mr. McGahn’s departure has been rumored for months,and he had told Mr. Trump earlier this year that he planned to step down 辞职 soon buthad not settled on a date. At the time, Mr. Trump told Mr. McGahn he wasreluctant to let him go. But the two men have not discussed the matterrecently.
The president’s tweet was precipitated by areport on the Axios website that Mr. McGahn planned to leave after theconfirmation of Judge Kavanaugh. Hearings on the nomination will begin nextweek.
[You’re Hired! You’re Fired! Yes, the Turnover at theTop of the Trump Administration Is … “Unprecedented.”
Since President Trump’s inauguration 就职典礼, White House staffers and cabinet officials have leftin firings解雇 and resignations,one after the other.（March 16, 2018）]
Mr. Trump had grown tired of seeing reports that Mr.McGahn might leave, according to people familiar with his thinking, and decidedto take away any wiggle room 回旋余地 hemight have. Allies of Mr. McGahn said on Wednesday that he believed the storywas planted by his critics to force the president’s hand and hasten thetimeline of announcing his departure.
Among those critics have been Mr. Trump’s daughterIvanka Trump and son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Ms. Trump complained bitterly toher father about The Times report this month, which detailed how some in theWhite House were unaware of the extent of Mr. McGahn’s cooperation with Mr.Mueller, according to a person briefed on the discussion.
One person close to Ms. Trump insisted that she hadnot criticized Mr. McGahn over his appearance before Mr. Mueller and that shehad not played a role in his departure.
Mr. Trump and his White House counsel had alreadygrown distant, with the president bristling at being advised not to takeactions that could draw legal scrutiny, and Mr. McGahn becoming increasinglyweary of serving a client who often refused to listen to legal reasoning.
Mr. McGahn had taken to telling people that a daywithout a summons to the Oval Office 美国总统办公室was a good day, and he preferred to spend as much timeas possible in his upstairs corner office in the West Wing next to thepresidential counselor Kellyanne Conway — like him a New Jersey native — whichthey called the “New Jersey corner.”
Within the White House, Mr. McGahn was seen as theprotector of presidential institutions and someone not afraid to fight thepresident, and had several epic史诗般的 screamingmatches to show for it.
Mr. Trump often griped that he wanted to get rid of Mr. McGahn, but the president never seemed willing to follow through 坚持到底 on it. The president asked Rob Porter, then the staffsecretary, several times last year if he would be willing to take over for Mr.McGahn, an idea supported by several of his aides and his children. But Mr.Porter told the president that he did not believe he was qualified for therole, feltit was the wrong fit for him 这对他不合适 and preferred focusing on policy, those briefed on the discussions said 那些听取了讨论的人说.
He has since left the White House amid accusations of spousal abuse后来他在虐待配偶的指控中离开了白宫.
Mr. Trump often blamed Mr. McGahn forthe cloud the special counsel’s investigation had cast over the White House.特别顾问调查的阴云已经笼罩了白宫
He said Mr. McGahn should have done more to stop Mr.Sessions from recusing himself from the investigation, the decision Mr. Trumpbelieves cleared the way for Mr. Mueller’s appointment in May 2017. But therewas one major decision Mr. McGahn did try to stop, and failed: firing theF.B.I. director, James B. Comey.
Mr. McGahn, who was the top lawyer for the Trumpcampaign,forged a strong bond with 铸造了牢固的纽带 Republicancongressional leaders, who regarded him as a rare island of political sense in a sea of White House officials whom they viewed as overly dramatic and politically inept.认为他是白宫众多戏剧化和无能政客中的一个罕见孤岛 He hadremained in the job, according to people who have spoken with him, in part atthe urging of Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader, as wellas to help execute a strategy he spearheaded to appoint conservative judges.
Mr. McGahn had tried to lay the groundwork 打下基础 for hisresignation by persuading Mr. Trump to hire Emmet T. Flood — who was part ofthe legal team that represented President Bill Clinton in his impeachment proceedings 弹劾程序— ashis lead White House lawyer dealing with the special counsel inquiry, to position Mr. Flood to then succeed him,让Flood接替他的位置 according to people close to the discussions.
Still, some Republicans reacted to the news of his impending departure with alarm尽管如此，一些共和党人对他即将离任的消息还是做出了惊恐的反应.
In a tweet, Senator Charles E. Grassleyof Iowa, the chairman of theSenate Judiciary Committee 参议院司法委员会, pleaded with Mr. Trump not to let himleave the White House.
But some members of conservative legal circles 保守派律师团体 in which Mr. McGahn has worked suggested that he had grownfrustrated with serving as the top lawyer in a White House that has drawn morethan the usual share of legal scrutiny.
George T. Conway III, who withdrew last year as Mr.Trump’s choice for a top post in the Justice Department and is Ms. Conway’s husband, respondedto Mr. Grassley by tweeting, “remember the eighth amendment, senator.” Itwas a reference to the prohibition in the Constitution against cruel andunusual punishment.
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