Fear: Trump in the White House

Perhaps the most troubling pieces of evidence were former FBI director James Comey’s memo and testimony that Trump had appealed to him to go easy on General Flynn after Flynn’s firing. According to Comey, Trump had said, “I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go. He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go.” Comey said he believed Trump was asking him to drop the investigation.

Trump denied he had said that or anything like it.

What did you say? Dowd asked the president.

“Well, I didn’t say that.” Trump said Comey had raised the prospect of Trump coming to FBI headquarters to talk to the agents. “And so I was asking him when he wanted me to do that. And he said he would get back to me. But I never commented on Flynn. I mean, as far as I was concerned, Flynn was over.”

Dowd continued his own inquiry, being briefed on the testimony of all known witnesses and reviewing documents.

He wanted to establish a relationship with Mueller, whom he knew. Years ago at a Marine Corps parade, Dowd had run into Mueller when he was FBI director.

“What are you up to?” Mueller asked.

“I’m representing Congressman Don Young.”

“That crook?” Mueller replied. “How could you do that?”

“That’s our system,” answered Dowd, who was offended that the FBI director would speak that way. Young was never charged, though the House Ethics Committee later rebuked him. Young soon became the longest-serving member of Congress.

While Mueller had not yet made a specific request for documents, one would likely be coming soon. White House Counsel Don McGahn did not want to turn over much of anything. He wanted the president to assert privileges, such as executive privilege.

Dowd disagreed with McGahn. If there was nothing to hide, Trump’s cooperation could help the prosecutor perhaps see it his way. He recommended to Trump that “we’d get a hell of a lot more with honey than we would with vinegar.”

“I have friends who tell me we ought to tell them to go fuck themselves,” the president said in one call. “I don’t trust these guys.” Dowd argued that cooperation would speed up the resolution and Trump eventually approved the honey-over-vinegar approach.

Dowd recommended hiring Ty Cobb, an experienced Washington lawyer known for his white handlebar mustache (Dowd called him “Colonel Sanders” after the Kentucky Fried Chicken icon) as special counsel on the White House staff. Cobb would be in charge of the delivery of documents to Mueller and his team. Dowd couldn’t do this because he was Trump’s personal lawyer, and the documents were White House documents. Cobb was really brought in to override McGahn’s advice to fight document requests.

Dowd emphasized to the president, “I want to build a relationship where we engage [Mueller] and then there are no secrets. And that can be done.”

Dowd went to his first meeting with Mueller and his chief deputy, James “Jim” Quarles, a veteran of the Watergate special prosecutor’s office 40 years earlier, at the special counsel’s office on June 16 at 1 p.m.

“We’re not waiving objections to your appointment,” Dowd said, “and how the hell you got here.” Rosenstein’s order was too broad and no one in the Justice Department had the authority to investigate any matter they stumbled on. “That order will not stand. But we are not going to throw rocks.”

Mueller did not respond. He was a master of silence.

“The president has authorized me to tell you he will cooperate,” Dowd said. His words to me were, “Tell Bob I respect him. I’ll cooperate.”

Mueller seemed relieved.

“What do you need?” Dowd asked him. “We’ll get it to you. But let’s get this investigation done.” The president’s position is that he has nothing to hide. He is not happy with the investigation to say the least but we want to avoid a protracted battle. “But we’d like you to reciprocate. And that is, engage.”

“John,” Mueller said as he stood, “the best cases are ones where we can fully engage.”

“The reason we’re cooperating is to get this damn thing over with,” Dowd said. “We’re not going to assert any privileges. This is over the objection of Don McGahn, but the president wants to do it. He wants you to see everything, talk to everyone.”

Ty Cobb had come up with a way to maintain, but get around, an executive privilege claim on testimony or documents. He had told Mueller, “Bob, we’re going to give it to you. We’re not waiving the privilege. After you see it, and at the end if you feel like you’ve got to use it, let us know and we’ll get you the waiver. As to the balance that’s in your archives, you’ve got to return them with the privilege.”

Mueller seemed thrilled that he would see all the documents. Let’s just do that verbally, said Mueller and Quarles. We don’t want to create a lot of paper.

Dowd said that was fine. No written record.