The attorney leading the White House’s response to the Russia investigation said on Sunday something that he’s told reporters numerous times before: that President Trump was not about to fire Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
But White House attorney Ty Cobb’s assurances seem more divorced from his client’s public posture than ever.
Over the weekend Trump escalated his war with Mueller and the Justice Department at large. He raged at Mueller over Twitter — calling him out by name on Twitter for the first time. Trump’s personal attorney, John Dowd, for the first time called for Mueller’s firing — a comment he initially said was being made on behalf of the president, before walking it back by calling it a personal statement of his own.
Their tirades came after Attorney General Jeff Sessions fired Andrew McCabe, the former No. 2 official at the FBI who has alleged that his termination was “part of this Administration’s ongoing war on the FBI and the efforts of the Special Counsel investigation.”
Yet on Sunday evening, after all the raging, Cobb projected his typical aura of cool, in a statement that went out to the White House press pool responding to “media speculation and related questions posed to the Administration.”
“[T]he White House yet again confirms that the President is not considering or discussing the firing of the Special Counsel, Robert Mueller,” Cobb said.
Cobb has been a voice of calm on Trump’s legal team, stressing his belief that cooperating with Mueller will let the probe wrap up quickly. Trump’s recent rage suggests he doesn’t exactly feel the same way.
Trump’s fuming was kicked off by Sessions’ decision late Friday evening to fire McCabe mere hours before McCabe was to become eligible for his retirement benefits.
McCabe’s firing is related to the Justice Department inspector general’s inquiry into the department’s handling of 2016-related investigations; McCabe reportedly was scrutinized for his lack of candor during the IG’s probe about a Wall Street story he helped facilitate about the FBI’s Hillary Clinton email investigation.
But Trump, in responding to the news, instead took a swipe at former FBI Director James Comey, who Trump fired leading to the appointment of Mueller.
Andrew McCabe FIRED, a great day for the hard working men and women of the FBI – A great day for Democracy. Sanctimonious James Comey was his boss and made McCabe look like a choirboy. He knew all about the lies and corruption going on at the highest levels of the FBI!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 17, 2018
Trump has repeatedly also slammed McCabe for contributions his wife received, during a failed 2015 state Senate run, from a group aligned with then-Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D). The continued public pressure from Trump has raised questions about McCabe’s firing, which McCabe himself has declared is intended to discredit him as a key Mueller witness, particularly on the Comey firing.
By Saturday morning, Dowd took the lashing-out to the next level. Claiming that he was speaking for the President, he told the Daily Beast — in a statement referencing Tennessee Williams’ “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” — that Mueller’s probe needed to be shut down by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who is overseeing it in light of Sessions’ recusal.
Dowd quickly went into walk back mode in statements to TPM and other outlets clarifying that he was speaking for himself and not on behalf of the President.
Nonetheless, Trump’s own sentiments did not sound too far off from Dowd’s. In a series of a half-dozen tweets over the weekend, Trump claimed Mueller’s probe “should never have been started” and that it was being led by “hardened Democrats.”
It appeared Trump was watching the fallout from the McCabe termination closely— responding to the news that McCabe had turned over memos about Trump-related conversations to Mueller and pushing back at Comey, who had warned Trump in a tweet that the “American people will hear my story very soon.”
As the House Intelligence Committee has concluded, there was no collusion between Russia and the Trump Campaign. As many are now finding out, however, there was tremendous leaking, lying and corruption at the highest levels of the FBI, Justice & State. #DrainTheSwamp
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 17, 2018
The Fake News is beside themselves that McCabe was caught, called out and fired. How many hundreds of thousands of dollars was given to wife’s campaign by Crooked H friend, Terry M, who was also under investigation? How many lies? How many leaks? Comey knew it all, and much more!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 17, 2018
The Mueller probe should never have been started in that there was no collusion and there was no crime. It was based on fraudulent activities and a Fake Dossier paid for by Crooked Hillary and the DNC, and improperly used in FISA COURT for surveillance of my campaign. WITCH HUNT!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 18, 2018
Wow, watch Comey lie under oath to Senator G when asked “have you ever been an anonymous source…or known someone else to be an anonymous source…?” He said strongly “never, no.” He lied as shown clearly on @foxandfriends.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 18, 2018
Spent very little time with Andrew McCabe, but he never took notes when he was with me. I don’t believe he made memos except to help his own agenda, probably at a later date. Same with lying James Comey. Can we call them Fake Memos?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 18, 2018
Why does the Mueller team have 13 hardened Democrats, some big Crooked Hillary supporters, and Zero Republicans? Another Dem recently added…does anyone think this is fair? And yet, there is NO COLLUSION!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 18, 2018
A total WITCH HUNT with massive conflicts of interest!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 19, 2018
With his most recent Tweet, Trump appeared to be reverting to an argument that was being privately floated to fire Mueller last summer, when Trump’s legal defense was being led his longtime personal lawyer, the brash Marc E. Kasowitz. The New York Times reported that the alleged conflicts Trump’s team was considering as justifications to ax Mueller were Democratic donations members of his team had given; Mueller’s previous position at a law firm representing Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner; and a 2011 dispute over fees that led Mueller to resign his membership at a Trump golf course.
Trump, the New York Times reported Sunday evening, is feeling unchained in recent days. He has been embolden to ignore the counsel of advisers, according to the Times, in a pattern that has also included his push for tariffs, his plans to meet with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un and the reshuffling of his Cabinet.
Less clear is whether this is a significant change re Trump and Mueller, or whether this was Trump’s habit of blowing off steam https://t.co/OM5FS2SXDO
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) March 19, 2018
The Daily Beast meanwhile reported that his allies believed that this was only the start in Trump’s new push to confront Mueller more directly.
Shouldn’t he be doing some presidentin’ instead of spending all his time saving his fat ass?
Trump’s definition of “conflict of interest”: if the party in question fails to answer ‘yes’ to the question, “Did you vote for me?”
Yup, it is all about loyalty to Trump rather than loyalty to the country.
Of course Trump won’t fire Mueller. The person who replaces Rosenstein will do it, and Trump will claim he had nothing to do with it.
“[T]he White House yet again confirms that the President is not considering or discussing the firing of the Special Counsel, Robert Mueller,” Cobb said.
Cobb sounds exasperated that nobody seems to believe statements being put out by the White House. But surely he must know that a trademark of this administration is flat out lying; people just want to know when this particular lie will be consummated.