It’s not like Democrats in the House don’t have enough to investigate. Now add this. The New York Times is reporting that Donald Trump pushed to have his political enemies prosecuted by the Justice Department.
Trump reportedly told the White House counsel, Don McGahn last spring that he wanted to prosecute Hillary Clinton and former F.B.I. Director James Comey. According to the Times, McGahn rebuffed the idea.
“The encounter was one of the most blatant examples yet of how Mr. Trump views the typically independent Justice Department as a tool to be wielded against his political enemies. It took on additional significance in recent weeks when Mr. McGahn left the White House and Mr. Trump appointed a relatively inexperienced political loyalist, Matthew G. Whitaker, as the acting attorney general.
“It is unclear whether Mr. Trump read Mr. McGahn’s memo or whether he pursued the prosecutions further. But the president has continued to privately discuss the matter, including the possible appointment of a second special counsel to investigate both Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Comey, according to two people who have spoken to Mr. Trump about the issue. He has also repeatedly expressed disappointment in the F.B.I. director, Christopher A. Wray, for failing to more aggressively investigate Mrs. Clinton, calling him weak, one of the people said.”
It’s unknown what charges Trump wanted prosecutors to pursue but McGahn is said to have made it clear to Trump that what he was asking for could lead to his impeachment.
CNN reported tonight that Trump has even asked acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker and Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein about investigations into Hillary Clinton.
These are the kinds of comments from Trump that his advisers often rationalize as “just how he talks.” In the case of going after Clinton and Comey, McGahn memorialized it with a memo that suggested he saw it as a potential threat. https://t.co/KsfO8DHqwd
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) November 20, 2018
https://twitter.com/waltshaub/status/1065059874634121220