Trump was reportedly stopped from sending a letter on the Comey firing. Now Special Counsel Mueller has it.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller has gotten ahold of a letter that President Trump drafted before he fired former FBI Director James Comey, The New York Times reported Friday. The letter, which allegedly fully outlines Trump's reasoning for ousting Comey amid the mounting Russia investigation, was ultimately never sent. The Justice Department recently passed it along to Mueller.
White House counsel Don McGahn apparently found some of the contents of the letter, which Trump drafted with senior policy adviser Stephen Miller, to be "problematic," the Times reported. McGahn managed to convince the president not to send the letter. Instead, Comey received a letter written by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein that leaned heavily on Comey's handling of the investigation into Hillary Clinton's private email server.
In Mueller's hands, the letter could prove illustrative. The Times described the letter as appearing to "provide the clearest rationale that Mr. Trump had for firing Mr. Comey" — specifically, how much the decision actually may have hinged upon Trump's frustrations and concerns about the investigation that Comey was leading into Russia's election meddling and the Trump team's potential ties to it.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that Trump's lawyers have submitted multiple memos to Mueller arguing that Trump did not obstruct justice when he fired Comey. Marc E. Elias, former general counsel to Clinton's 2016 campaign, noted on Twitter that this is "highly unusual unless you have a good sense that the prosecutors are moving against your client."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Film reviews: The Phoenician Scheme, Bring Her Back, and Jane Austen Wrecked My Life
Feature A despised mogul seeks a fresh triumph, orphaned siblings land with a nightmare foster mother, and a Jane fan finds herself in a love triangle
-
Music reviews: Tune-Yards and PinkPantheress
Feature "Better Dreaming" and "Fancy That"
-
Withdrawing 529 plan funds for college? Here's what to know.
the explainer Maximize the amount you have stashed away for your education
-
Elon Musk slams Trump's 'pork-filled' signature bill
speed read 'Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong,' Musk posted on X
-
Depleted FEMA struggling as hurricane season begins
speed read FEMA has lost a third of its workforce amid DOGE cuts enforced by President Donald Trump
-
White House tackles fake citations in MAHA report
speed read A federal government public health report spearheaded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was rife with false citations
-
Judge blocks push to bar Harvard foreign students
speed read Judge Allison Burroughs sided with Harvard against the Trump administration's attempt to block the admittance of international students
-
Trump's trade war whipsawed by court rulings
Speed Read A series of court rulings over Trump's tariffs renders the future of US trade policy uncertain
-
Elon Musk departs Trump administration
speed read The former DOGE head says he is ending his government work to spend more time on his companies
-
Trump taps ex-personal lawyer for appeals court
speed read The president has nominated Emil Bove, his former criminal defense lawyer, to be a federal judge
-
US trade court nullifies Trump's biggest tariffs
speed read The US Court of International Trade says Trump exceeded his authority in imposing global tariffs