Former White House Counsel Don McGahn was cited 157 times in the Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report, more than any other witness, and that has Rudy Giuliani running scared.
In an interview Monday with The New York Times, Giuliani, a member of President Trump's legal team, admitted that he's worried Democrats could use the Mueller report to start impeachment proceedings against Trump, and he's now trying to chip away at McGahn's credibility, saying he has "no choice but to attack."
McGahn was still White House counsel when he first met with Mueller's team in November 2017. He was concerned that Trump would turn him into a scapegoat, the Times says, and now that the report is out and shows he discussed multiple incidents that could be viewed as obstruction of justice, that's exactly what he's become.
Giuliani questioned McGahn's motives and memory and criticized Mueller's office and how investigators interviewed McGahn, saying in one case it was a "cross-examination a law student could perform." McGahn was "hopelessly confused," Giuliani alleged, and disputed a section of the report that stated Trump demanded McGahn order the Justice Department to fire Mueller. The report, he concluded, is "a disgrace." McGahn's attorney, William Burck, told the Times the report "speaks for itself, and no amount of obfuscation by Mr. Giuliani is going to fool anyone."
Not everyone in the White House is on board with Giuliani's tactics, two staffers told the Times, and many think Trump and his legal team should try a new strategy: Remaining silent.