Mueller testimony: Trump ordered former White House counsel Don McGahn to lie, special counsel confirms

Robert Mueller confirmed former White House counsel Don McGahn was pressured to lie by the White House about whether he was ever asked by Donald Trump to fire the former special counsel while testifying before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.

"The president told the White House staff secretary, Rob Porter, to try to pressure [Don] McGahn to make a false denial. Is that correct?" Democrat Karen Bass asked Mr Mueller.

"That's correct,” he replied.

The former special counsel’s public testimony on Wednesday and 448-page report detailed numerous examples of alleged obstruction of justice on the part of the president. At one point, the report notes how Mr Trump told Mr Porter he would fire the former White House counsel if he refused to craft a statement claiming he was never directed to fire Mr Mueller.

“If he doesn’t write a letter, then maybe I’ll have to get rid of him,” Mr Trump said, according to the report.

The president referred to Mr McGahn as a “lying bastard,” Mr Porter recalled in his account to the former special counsel.

Democrat Cedric Richmond further pressed Mr Mueller on the issue, asking, “So it's fair to say the President tried to protect himself by asking staff to falsify records relevant to an ongoing investigation?”

“I would say that's generally a summary,” he replied.

“The President's attempt to get McGahn to create a false written record were related to Mr. Trump's concerns were related to President Trump's concerns about your obstruction of justice inquiry, correct?” Mr Richmond continued.

“I believe that to be true,” Mr Mueller said.

The revelation arrived amid a tense battle on Capitol Hill to have the former White House counsel testify before Congress. Mr Trump directed Mr McGahn to defy a congressional subpoena in May, citing a Justice Department legal opinion that maintains the former counsel would have immunity from testifying about his work as a close adviser to the president. A lawyer for Mr McGahn said he would follow the president’s wishes and skip hearings at the time.

Democrats have meanwhile accused Mr Trump and Attorney General William Barr of trying to stonewall and obstruct Congress’ oversight duties.

The House Judiciary Committee had issued a subpoena to compel Mr McGahn to testify and the committee’s chairman, Jerrold Nadler, has threatened to hold him in contempt of Congress if he doesn’t.

Mr Nadler has also suggested he may try and levy fines against witnesses who do not comply with committee requests.

Mr McGahn’s lawyer, William Burck, said in a letter to Mr Nadler that Mr McGahn is “conscious of the duties he, as an attorney, owes to his former client” and would decline to appear.

Still, Mr Burck encouraged the committee to negotiate a compromise with the White House, saying his client “again finds himself facing contradictory instructions from two co-equal branches of government.”

Mr McGahn was a key figure in the former special counsel’s investigation, describing ways in which the president sought to curtail the federal probe. Democrats hoped to question him as a way to focus attention on Mr Mueller’s findings and further investigate whether Mr Trump did obstruct justice.

Mr Trump has fumed about Mr McGahn for months, after it became clear that much of the former special counsel's report was based on his testimony. The president has bashed his former White House counsel on Twitter and has reportedly insisted to advisers that the attorney not be allowed to humiliate him in front of Congress.

The former special counsel also denied Mr Trump's claims he was cleared of obstruction in the report into Russian interference in the 2016 election, telling the House Judiciary Committee, "the president was not exculpated for the crimes that he allegedly committed." Mr Mueller also said Mr Trump could be prosecuted for the alleged crimes when he is no longer the sitting president.

Additional reporting by AP