Press Releases

This evening, the New York Times reports that President Donald Trump ordered White House Counsel Don McGahn to stop Attorney General Jeff Sessions from recusing himself from the Russia investigation, that Mr. McGahn carried out those orders, and that an aide to Attorney General Sessions approached congressional staff to ask for information that might damage the reputation of former FBI Director James Comey. 

Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Ranking Member of the House Committee on the Judiciary, issued the following statement in response:

“Mr. McGahn’s reported conduct is completely unacceptable.  The role of the Attorney General is to uphold the law—including the rules prohibiting Department of Justice officials from participating in cases in which they have a conflict of interest.  Either Mr. McGahn knows this, and decided to interfere with the Russia investigation anyway, or he doesn’t. Neither case is acceptable and he should be removed from his post immediately.

“Mr. McGahn’s actions under Mr. Trump’s orders in either case would appear to be yet another incident pointing to an overall effort to obstruct and undermine the Department of Justice.  It is not the duty of the White House Counsel to be the President's Roy Cohn, as Donald Trump would have it, but to protect and defend the Constitution — which Mr. McGahn seems to be failing to do.

“Congress needs to know exactly what efforts Mr. McGahn took to ‘lobby’ the Attorney General in this case, and what President Trump’s role was in those efforts.  I am calling on Mr. McGahn to make himself available to the House Judiciary Committee to explain his role in these events.  We also need to learn what role McGahn or others played in any effort by the Department to solicit congressional staffers for information that would discredit former FBI Director Comey.  I expect that Mr. McGahn will volunteer his testimony now before he is eventually compelled to provide it.”