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Ex-White House counsel Don McGahn: Trump "deserves" four more years

Former White House counsel Don McGahn, who was a key witness in special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe, told CBS' "Face the Nation" Sunday he believes Donald Trump deserves four more years as president.

The big picture: McGahn's relationship with Trump soured in 2018 before he ultimately resigned from his position. McGahn would go on to appear in 66 pages of Mueller's 448-page report as part of the volume on Trump's possible obstruction of justice.

  • The report describes a moment in which McGahn refused to comply with an order to have the Justice Department fire Mueller.

What he's saying: McGahn said Trump deserved another four years because of his record pace appointing judges to the federal bench and because the economy is "going wonderfully."

  • "He made a number of promises on the campaign trail, one is his judicial selection, which he's done. He's had a record number of judges out there — on the circuit courts."
  • Worth noting: McGahn did not specifically say that he is voting for Trump.

Between the lines: "Despite calling Trump 'King Kong' behind back for unnecessary destruction and having to serve as chief witness against him in Mueller investigation, McGahn believes so much in mission of remaking federal judiciary that he says Trump deserves 4 more years," tweeted NY Times' Michael Schmidt.

Go deeper

Jim VandeHei, Mike Allen
Dec 17, 2018 - World

Russia is winning its war of disinformation

Illustration: Lazaro Gamio/Axios

U.S. intelligence says Russia sought to disrupt the 2016 and 2018 elections and sow discord. Regardless of what Robert Mueller does, Russia did it — and is still at it.

The big picture: Multiple high-stakes, aggressive federal investigations were spawned by an initial FBI probe of Russian government efforts to influence the 2016 presidential election. And fallout from Russian meddling, including Democratic talk of impeaching President Trump, is likely to remain a dominant political issue as Democrats take over the House 17 days from now.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Shawna Chen
1 hour ago - Politics & Policy

Kaine, Collins' censure resolution seeks to bar Trump from holding office again

Sen. Tim Kaine (center) and Sen. Susan Collins (right). Photo: Andrew Harnik/Pool via Getty Images

Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) are forging ahead with a draft proposal to censure former President Trump, and are considering introducing the resolution on the Senate floor next week.

Why it matters: Senators are looking for a way to condemn Trump on the record as it becomes increasingly unlikely Democrats will obtain the 17 Republican votes needed to gain a conviction, Axios Alayna Treene writes. "I think it’s important for the Senate's leadership to understand that there are alternatives," Kaine told CNN on Wednesday.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Courtenay Brown
3 hours ago - Economy & Business

Stark reminder for America's corporate leaders

Rosalind "Roz" Brewer is about to become only the second Black woman to permanently lead a Fortune 500 company. She starts as Walgreens CEO on March 15.

Why it matters: It's a stark reminder of how far corporate America's top decision-makers have to go during an unprecedented push by politicians, employees and even a stock exchange to diversify their top ranks.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow