Trump orders White House counsel McGahn to have Mueller removed

President Trump called White House Counsel Don McGahn at home on June 17, 2017, and directed him to call Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein to say that Mueller had conflicts of interest and must be removed. McGahn refused to carry out the order, telling aides he would resign rather than follow it, and did not make the call. Mueller identified this as a core obstruction episode — a direct presidential directive to terminate the Special Counsel investigation.