"As has been incorrectly reported by the Fake News Media, I never told then White House Counsel Don McGahn to fire Robert Mueller, even though I had the legal right to do so. If I wanted to fire Mueller, I didn't need McGahn to do it, I could have done it myself," Trump tweeted on Thursday, suggesting that Don McGahn — who served as the White House Counsel for the president from his inauguration up until October 17, 2018 — lied to the Mueller team.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 25, 2019
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 25, 2019
Ahead of the report's release, US Attorney General Barr indicated that Mueller did not find evidence that any US citizens were involved in conspiratorial activities with Russian authorities or the Russia-based Internet Research Agency during the 2016 election.
Furthermore, Barr said that the report did not find any 'illegally' disseminated hacked emails, or showed any evidence that Trump obstructed the Russia probe. At the same time, the document detailed instances in which Trump may have been fishing for ways to obstruct the investigation, but all his attempts were failures, largely because his officials refused to accede to his requests.
Trump's Thursday tweet came after US House Judiciary Committee Chair Jerry Nadler reportedly subpoenaed former White House Counsel Don McGahn earlier this week to testify before the panel in its investigation of possible obstruction of justice by Trump.
According to the report, McGahn had been on the verge of resigning when Trump told him to ask Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to fire Mueller, Sputnik previously reported. However, McGahan's lawyer, Bill Burck, stated that McGahn's conversations with the president were "accurately described" in the report.
"Don, nonetheless, appreciates that the president gave him the opportunity to serve as White House Counsel," Burck's statement added.
However, despite the report's findings, some White House allies are wondering whether Trump's continued talk regarding the Mueller report is doing the president any good.
According to one former Trump campaign official who spoke to Politico, the president's rhetoric following the release of the Mueller report is a "complete and utter disaster."
"Obviously, it's not a smart strategy," another former White House official told Politico, adding that the president "needs to let it go."
"It's especially not helpful to him, but he just can't help himself," he added.
According to the sources who recently spoke to Politico, even some House Democrats are ready to move on from the Mueller investigation and direct their attention to other important policy issues such as prescription drug prices and immigration.
"In the big spectrum of everything, people are still deeply concerned about prescription drug prices […] They're wanting to see Washington focused on immigration reform," Rep. Abigail Spanberger (Va.), told Politico in a recent interview.
