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Mueller Investigation Obstruction: Witness Tampering, McGahn, Flynn Pardon Signal

The Mueller Report documented a sustained pattern of obstruction. Trump ordered McGahn to fire Mueller in June 2017; McGahn refused and prepared to resign. Trump later ordered McGahn to publicly deny having received this order; McGahn refused. Trump publicly praised associates who did not cooperate and attacked those who did. His private communications with Manafort were described in court filings as reassuring Manafort that a pardon was a possibility, potentially discouraging cooperation. Mueller concluded that Congress, not the Special Counsel, was the appropriate institution to address obstruction given OLC policy against indicting a sitting president.

Record summary

Grade

Grade 4 of 5: Critical Rights and Rule-of-Law Concern

Systematic actions that undermine fundamental constitutional or international legal protections at the structural level. Scale and definitions

Status
Concluded
Incident date
Record updated
Location
Washington, D.C.
Category
Rule of Law
Legal posture
Judicial finding
War-crime classification
Enabling conduct
Verification
Independently verified
ICC relevance
No
Sources
4 cited
Stable ID
trump-first-term-gag-orders-mueller-witnesses
Victims
Rule of law and the constitutional separation of powers; witnesses who received signals discouraging cooperation with federal investigators; the integrity of the Special Counsel investigation and the public's right to the results of a completed federal investigation
Alleged responsible parties
  • Donald Trump, President; ordered Mueller's firing (refused by McGahn); ordered Sessions to un-recuse; publicly attacked cooperating witnesses while praising non-cooperating ones; dangled pardons potentially discouraging cooperation; ordered McGahn to falsely deny the firing order— White House
  • Jeff Sessions, Attorney General; recused himself from the Russia investigation; was repeatedly pressured by Trump to un-recuse and take control of the investigation; ultimately refused and resigned November 2018— U.S. Department of Justice

Key points

  • In June 2017, Trump called McGahn at home and told him to call the Acting Attorney General to have Mueller removed; McGahn refused, prepared to resign, and told other White House aides he would not be the one to fire another special counsel; Trump later denied having given the order; in February 2018, Trump directed McGahn to create a document falsely denying the order; McGahn again refused
  • Mueller's Volume II documented ten specific episodes of potential obstruction: the Comey firing, the order to McGahn to fire Mueller, the order for McGahn to deny the order, attempts to limit the investigation's scope through Sessions, conduct toward Flynn, conduct toward Manafort, conduct toward Cohen, the Sessions public pressure campaign, dangling pardons for cooperating witnesses, and conduct toward the investigation generally
  • Trump publicly communicated what appeared to be pardon signals to potential witnesses: he praised Manafort's 'bravery' for not cooperating while attacking Cohen as a 'rat' after Cohen agreed to cooperate; Mueller's prosecutors documented in court filings that Manafort's attorney had relayed pardon discussions; federal prosecutors argued this constituted witness tampering by signaling that non-cooperation would be rewarded
  • Mueller concluded he could not charge Trump with obstruction in part because of longstanding OLC policy against indicting a sitting president — a policy that had never been tested at the Supreme Court; he further concluded that he could not reach a definitive conclusion on obstruction that would deprive the president of the opportunity to clear himself in an appropriate proceeding (i.e., Congress); Mueller explicitly did not exonerate Trump, stating 'we did not make a determination either way'
  • Trump's public claims that the Mueller Report 'totally exonerated' him were false; Mueller explicitly addressed this in his May 29, 2019 press conference, stating: 'if we had had confidence that the president clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so'
  • The ten obstruction episodes documented by Mueller covered the entire period of the investigation from April 2017 to March 2019; Attorney General Barr received the report, summarized it in a letter to Congress that Trump called 'exoneration,' and subsequently released a redacted version; Mueller wrote Barr a letter complaining that Barr's summary had 'created public confusion' about the report's findings

Overview

Don McGahn received a phone call at home from the President of the United States telling him to have Robert Mueller fired. He refused. He prepared to resign. He told other White House aides what had happened.

The Mueller Report documented this episode and nine others constituting potential obstruction of justice. Mueller did not charge Trump because of a legal memo he was unwilling to override. He explicitly did not exonerate him.

Trump told the public the report totally exonerated him. Mueller went to a microphone and said that was false.

The McGahn Episode

The June 2017 firing order to McGahn was not subtle. Trump called him at home, told him to contact the Acting Attorney General, and directed that Mueller be removed. McGahn understood the significance — he had watched James Comey fired two months earlier while meeting with Rosenstein — and refused.

Trump later ordered McGahn to publicly deny the episode. McGahn told aides he would not "tell the boss's story." He had already told Mueller about it.

When the report was released, Trump's lawyers issued statements saying the episode showed Trump's innocence because the order was never carried out. McGahn's refusal prevented the crime's completion; it did not prevent the attempt.

The Pardon Signal

The Mueller Report's treatment of Manafort and the pardon question was direct. Trump publicly praised Manafort's "bravery" for not cooperating while calling Cohen, who cooperated, a "rat." Federal prosecutors documented in court filings that Manafort's attorney had conveyed discussions of a pardon between the two camps while Manafort was still under investigation.

Signaling to a witness that non-cooperation will be rewarded with a pardon — while publicly praising non-cooperation and attacking cooperation — is what prosecutors call witness tampering. Mueller's prosecutors called it that in court filings. Trump eventually pardoned Manafort.

Mueller's Actual Words

The five words "no collusion, total exoneration" were repeated by Trump and his allies until they entered the political bloodstream as established fact. Mueller's actual words were different: if his team had found that Trump clearly did not commit a crime, they would have said so. They did not say so.

Barr's four-page summary — which created the "exoneration" narrative before the report was released — was described by Mueller in a letter to Barr as having created "public confusion" about the report's findings. Mueller published that letter. Barr's summary had shaped weeks of public understanding before the actual report could correct it.

Update log

  1. Based on Mueller Report Volume II release.

Sequence of events

  1. Mueller appointed Special Counsel

    Rod Rosenstein appoints Robert Mueller as Special Counsel to investigate Russian interference and related matters. The investigation will last 22 months.

  2. Trump orders McGahn to fire Mueller — McGahn refuses

    Trump calls McGahn at home and orders him to contact the Acting AG to fire Mueller. McGahn refuses and prepares to resign. He tells other White House aides he will not be the agent of firing another special counsel.

  3. Trump orders McGahn to deny firing order — McGahn refuses again

    After reports of the firing order become public, Trump directs McGahn to issue a public statement denying Trump had ordered Mueller's firing. McGahn refuses again, telling aides he will not 'tell the boss's story.'

  4. Manafort convicted — Trump praises his 'bravery' for not cooperating

    After Manafort is convicted on eight fraud counts, Trump praises him publicly as 'a brave man' for not cooperating with Mueller. Cohen, who had agreed to cooperate, is called a 'rat' in Trump's public statements.

  5. Mueller Report submitted — Barr summarizes before release

    Mueller submits his report to Barr. Barr sends Congress a four-page summary claiming the report does not establish collusion and that Barr has determined there was insufficient evidence of obstruction. Mueller writes Barr saying the summary 'created public confusion.'

  6. Mueller Report released — 10 obstruction episodes documented

    The redacted Mueller Report is released publicly. Volume II documents ten specific obstruction episodes and states explicitly that Mueller did not exonerate Trump — a direct contradiction of Trump's public claims.

  7. Mueller press conference — 'if innocent we would have said so'

    Mueller holds a press conference stating that if his team had confidence Trump clearly did not commit a crime, they would have said so. He reaffirms OLC policy prevented charging a sitting president. He emphasizes Congress as the appropriate venue for further proceedings.

Sources

  1. Mueller Report Released: Read It in Full — The New York Times
  2. Mueller report details 10 obstruction episodes — Trump ordered Mueller fired — The Washington Post
  3. Mueller documents 10 obstruction episodes involving Trump — The Associated Press
  4. Report On The Investigation Into Russian Interference In The 2016 Presidential Election — Volume II: Obstruction — U.S. Department of Justice (Mueller Report) archived ✓

How this record was published

Manually curated This entry was added directly and does not carry an automated audit trail.

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