President Donald Trump told White House attorneys he wanted the Justice Department to prosecute Hillary Clinton and former FBI director James B. Comey, the latest indication the president views the department as a potential weapon to use against political opponents, according to a report.
The New York Times, citing unnamed sources familiar with Trump’s conversation, said the president told former White House counsel Donald F. McGahn in the spring that he wanted the Justice Department to pursue Clinton and Comey.
McGahn, according to the report, rebuffed the request, saying it would prompt critics to claim the president was abusing his power.
The revelation comes weeks after Trump ousted Attorney General Jeff Sessions, whom the president frequently criticized for recusing himself from the ongoing probe into Russia’s involvement in the 2016 presidential election. Trump replaced Sessions with Matthew Whitaker, an interim attorney general and ally who has more readily embraced the president’s views.
McGahn left the White House in October.