When Robert Mueller was appointed in 2017 to probe President Trump, the president saw it as a catastrophe of colossal proportions, saying it marked “the end of my presidency,” according to the special counsel’s final report.
“How could you let this happen, Jeff,” Mr. Trump demanded of then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who because of his work on the Trump campaign had recused himself and left the decisions to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.
Mr. Trump slumped back in his chair upon learning of the news.
“Oh my god. This is terrible. This is the end of my presidency. I’m f***ed,” he said.
Details of the president’s reaction are recounted in the nearly 400-page report, released to the public Thursday.
Mr. Trump was so angry he demanded Mr. Sessions hand in his resignation.
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“Everyone tells me if you get one of those independent counsels it ruins your presidency. It takes year and years and I won’t be able to do anything. This is the worst thing that ever happened to me,” he said.
Hope Hicks, at the time a top communications advisor, said she’d only seen Mr. Trump that angry one other time — after the release of a previously unaired video from the “Access Hollywood” show depicting the president engaging in vile comments about the sexual assault of women.
Later, Mr. Trump asked Mr. Sessions if he wanted to stay and the then-attorney general said he did. The president agreed — though he pocketed Mr. Sessions’ resignation.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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