Don McGahn

Trump Declares Total War on Congressional Oversight: "We're Fighting All the Subpoenas"

| Importance: 9/10

President Donald Trump explicitly declares blanket resistance to congressional oversight, stating “We’re fighting all the subpoenas” and dismissing House Democrats as not “impartial people.” This systematic escalation represents an unprecedented challenge to legislative …

Donald Trump White House House Democrats Congressional Investigators Don McGahn +2 more trump-administration congressional-obstruction subpoena-defiance constitutional-crisis systematic-corruption +2 more
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Trump Administration Claims Absolute Immunity from Congressional Oversight, Systematically Accelerating WHIG Constitutional Crisis Precedent

| Importance: 10/10

President Trump and White House Counsel Pat Cipollone declare ‘absolute immunity’ from all congressional oversight, systematically implementing and accelerating WHIG-established constitutional crisis precedents for executive branch bypass of legislative authority. The …

Donald Trump Pat Cipollone Don McGahn White House Counsel Office Trump Administration constitutional-crisis-acceleration whig-template-implementation absolute-immunity-claims congressional-oversight-elimination systematic-institutional-capture +4 more
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Trump Claims Absolute Immunity from Congressional Oversight

| Importance: 8/10

The Trump administration claimed ‘absolute immunity’ to block all congressional oversight, with White House Counsel Pat Cipollone declaring Congress had no ’legitimate legislative purpose’ for investigations. Don McGahn defied House subpoenas despite federal judges ruling …

Donald Trump Pat Cipollone Don McGahn John Bolton Mike Pompeo +1 more obstruction absolute-immunity congressional-oversight constitutional-crisis executive-power
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New York Times Reveals Trump Ordered McGahn to Fire Mueller; Trump Subsequently Demands McGahn Deny Story and Create False Record

| Importance: 9/10

The New York Times reported on January 25, 2018, that President Donald Trump had ordered White House Counsel Don McGahn in June 2017 to direct Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to remove Special Counsel Robert Mueller, and that McGahn had refused and threatened to resign rather than carry out …

Donald Trump Don McGahn Rod Rosenstein Robert Mueller Obstruction of Justice Mueller Investigation White House Counsel Presidential Abuse of Power Don McGahn +1 more
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Trump Orders McGahn to Fire Mueller, Triggering Potential "Saturday Night Massacre"

| Importance: 6/10

Trump called White House Counsel Don McGahn at home and directed him to call Acting Attorney General and say Special Counsel had conflicts of interest and must be removed. McGahn refused, deciding he would resign rather than trigger what he viewed as potential “Saturday Night Massacre” …

Donald Trump Don McGahn Rod Rosenstein Rob Porter obstruction-of-justice mueller-investigation saturday-night-massacre witness-tampering document-falsification +2 more
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Michael Flynn Resigns After 24 Days as National Security Advisor - Shortest Tenure Ever - Following Russia Lies to Pence and FBI

| Importance: 10/10

National Security Advisor Michael Flynn resigned on February 13, 2017, after just 24 days in office—the shortest tenure in the 63-year history of the position. Flynn’s resignation came after revelations that he had lied to Vice President Mike Pence, other White House officials, and the FBI …

Michael Flynn Donald Trump Mike Pence Sally Yates Sergey Kislyak +1 more russia-investigation obstruction-of-justice flynn perjury national-security-risk
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Trump Promises All Supreme Court Picks Will Come From Federalist Society

| Importance: 10/10

During the 2016 campaign, Donald Trump made a pivotal strategic commitment to outsource Supreme Court nominee selection entirely to the Federalist Society, a move that would fundamentally reshape the federal judiciary. In March 2016, Trump, campaign lawyer Don McGahn, and Federalist Society …

Donald Trump Leonard Leo Don McGahn Neil Gorsuch Brett Kavanaugh +3 more trump-judicial-nominees federalist-society-vetting leonard-leo supreme-court-outsourcing judicial-capture +2 more
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