Apr 19, 2019 - Politics & Policy
Trump calls portions of Mueller report "total bullshit"
President Trump called some statements provided by witnesses in special counsel Robert Mueller's report "total bullshit" in a series of Friday morning tweets.
"Because I never agreed to testify, it was not necessary for me to respond to statements made in the 'Report' about me, some of which are total bullshit & only given to make the other person look good (or me to look bad)."
The big picture: Trump also tweeted to "watch out for people that take so-called 'notes,'" likely a reference to one of the report's most-reported passages, where the president questioned why then-White House counsel Don McGahn took notes during their conversations.
- According to details McGahn and others provided to the Mueller's team, Trump had instructed McGahn to contact Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to have Mueller fired. McGahn did not carry out Trump's order.
- Refusals from McGahn — and other top White House staffers — to obey such presidential directives are part of the reason why Trump ultimately avoided obstruction of justice charges in Mueller's investigation.
Worth noting: According to the report, when Trump learned of Mueller's appointment from then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions, the president said, "Oh my God. This is terrible. This is the end of my presidency. I'm fucked."
- That anecdote came from contemporaneous notes provided to Mueller's investigation by Sessions' chief of staff, Jody Hunt.
Go deeper: 7 takeaways from the Mueller report