President Trump tore into the New York Times in a torrent of angry tweets on Sunday, claiming “some members of the media” had expressed frustration with the newspaper’s coverage of White House counsel Don McGahn’s cooperation with special counsel Robert Mueller’s federal Russia investigation.
“Some members of the media are very Angry at the Fake Story in the New York Times. They actually called to complain and apologize – a big step forward,” Trump wrote on Twitter.
“From the day I announced, the Times has been Fake News, and with their disgusting new Board Member, it will only get worse!” he continued, appearing to refer to the Times’ latest editorial board hire, Sarah Jeong, who was a controversial pick due to her history of racially charged tweets.
Some members of the media are very Angry at the Fake Story in the New York Times. They actually called to complain and apologize – a big step forward. From the day I announced, the Times has been Fake News, and with their disgusting new Board Member, it will only get worse!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 19, 2018
McGahn has met with Mueller’s team three times, the New York Times reported Saturday, speaking to federal investigators for about 30 hours during the past nine months on a range of topics, including Trump’s dismissal of former FBI director James Comey and his push to install a person loyal to the president to oversee the federal Russia probe. The newspaper noted that it is “unusual” for an attorney to share such intimate details about a client.
Trump pushed back on the report later that day, taking to Twitter to assert that he “allowed” McGahn “and all other requested members of the White House Staff” to cooperate with Mueller’s outfit.
He continued to undercut the New York Times story Sunday in a flurry of tweets, reiterating his comparison of Mueller’s investigation to a “witch hunt” and as an example of “McCarthyism.”
“Study the late Joseph McCarthy, because we are now in period with Mueller and his gang that make Joseph McCarthy look like a baby! Rigged Witch Hunt!” he wrote in reference to the Wisconsin Republican senator’s notorious hunt for communist sympathizers in the 1950s.
Study the late Joseph McCarthy, because we are now in period with Mueller and his gang that make Joseph McCarthy look like a baby! Rigged Witch Hunt!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 19, 2018
News of McGahn’s cooperation with Mueller comes as Trump’s personal lawyers remain at loggerheads with the special counsel regarding the prospect of the president voluntarily sitting down to provide testimony on ties between the 2016 Trump campaign and Russia, as well as the possibility that Trump obstructed justice when he fired Comey.
