- Donald Trump threatened once to use his presidency to prosecute his political foes.
- A White House attorney had the task of explaining to the then-president that he didn’t have this power.
- Insider was able to obtain “The Divider,” a book about the incident that covered the entire episode prior to its publication.
Former President Donald Trump once required a civics lesson from White House counsel on the limits of his power after he suggested that as president, he could — and would — prosecute his political enemies, according to a new book from Peter Baker of The New York Times and Susan Glasser of The New Yorker.
Trump was a prodigy at stealing during his tenure. Skewering his foesvia Twitter TakedownsAnd Public lashingsHowever, some of his enemies irked him so much that he sought a more permanent way to exact revenge.
According to “DividerInsider received the Sept. 20 issue of “The Trump Files,” before publication. Trump had repeatedly pressured Bill Barr and Jeff Sessions, former US Attorneys General, to press charges against him and his adversaries, including Hillary Clinton. James Comey was the former FBI Director.
Trump instructed at one point during the spring 2018 [former White House Counsel]Don McGahn directed Sessions to prosecute Clinton, Comey, and, if Sessions refused, Baker and Glasser wrote. “McGahn needed to explain that the president did not have such power.”
McGahn stated to Trump, “You cannot prosecute anybody,” according to the book.
McGahn continued his explanation by sending Trump an “extraordinary memo” in which he explained to Trump how illegal it was to use his presidency to pursue political enemies. According to the book, McGahn compared such a move with that of a dictator.
“Congress could look to ‘Impeach and Remove the president if it concluded that he abused the power of intervening in a criminal matter,’ McGahn wrote, using boldface and italics to emphasize his point,” Glasser and Baker wrote.
Insider asked for comment from Trump spokesperson, but they did not respond immediately.
Numerous former Trump White House and Government officials have since shared similar stories. They suggest that Trump was not well-versed in the details of his new position.
In the spring of this year, Barr claimed that Trump had no “good idea”.Check out the various roles that the Justice Department and the president played during his tenure.
In the 2021 CIA publication “Getting to Know The President” author John L. Helgerson, a former intelligence officer, said Trump was the most difficult incoming President to brief, and an August New York Times ReportCite intelligence officials who said They withheld many details from Trump.Fear of what he might do to his reputation if he found out.
The authors include an anecdote on Trump’s former chief-of-staff John Kelly. A book was purchased “to understand the president’s specific psychoses.”” to help him cope with his erratic behavior.
