Former President Donald Trump on Thursday took a victory lap a day after Democrats’ released a transcript of the closed-door testimony of former White House Counsel Don McGahn, which revealed little new information about Mr. Trump’s actions during the Mueller collusion probe.
“I have also been totally exonerated in Congress by the testimony of former White House lawyer Don McGahn,” Mr. Trump said in a statement. “It came, it went and it was a big ‘nothingburger.’”
Mr. Trump also revived his complaint that special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation was a “witch hunt” that cost millions in taxpayer money.
“I fought the made-up Hoax strongly and effectively and I won,” the former president said.
During his testimony last week, Mr. McGahn confirmed that Mr. Trump had urged him to oust Mr. Mueller, but he refused and considered the request “a point of no return.”
Much of what Mr. McGahn had told lawmakers had already been detailed in Mr. Mueller’s final, public report dashing Democrats’ hopes for a major bombshell.
Mr. Trump has repeatedly denied the accusation that he tried to fire the special counsel.
Democrats say Mr. Trump’s actions amount to obstruction, though former Attorney General William P. Barr cleared the former president of obstructing the Mueller probe.
“Then they fabricated out of thin air, the fake allegation that I obstructed justice, and I won that too,” Mr. Trump said in his statement. “Think of it, how can you obstruct justice when you were fighting a false and illegally submitted narrative?”
Mr. McGahn told lawmakers that Mr. Trump ordered him to tell reporters that there was no effort to oust Mr. Mueller and that he worried he could be indicted for lying.
But he also said that Mr. Trump “fully cooperated” with the Mueller probe and that he did not witness any collusion between the president and Russia, which was the basis for the special counsel probe.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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