WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump last June ordered Special Counsel Robert Mueller fired but backed down after the White House counsel threatened to resign rather than follow his directive, The New York Times reported on Thursday, citing four people told of the matter. White House lawyers and press officials did not immediately reply to Reuters requests for comment. First, Trump said that a dispute years ago over fees at Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia, had led Mueller to resign his membership, the newspaper reported. White House counsel Donald McGahn said he would quit rather than follow through on the order to fire Mueller, the Times reported, citing the people. Comey’s firing is central to whether Trump may have committed obstruction of justice.

Source: Pakistan Today January 26, 2018 02:26 UTC