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Aug. 29 (UPI) -- White House counsel Don McGahn will leave his post in the fall, President Donald Trump confirmed Wednesday. The resignation will likely come after the midterm elections or after confirmation hearings to appoint Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court are finished, news website Axios reported. McGahn was instrumental in Trump's nominations of Kavanagh and Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch.
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McGahn has also cooperated with special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into allegations of Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. Mueller's team interviewed McGahn at least three times for a total of 30 hours. Trump was later critical of news outlets that, he said, gave the impression McGahn's cooperation provided too much information to Mueller, or that McGahn "turned" on Trump.
Trump has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and has repeatedly referred to the probe as a witch hunt.
White House Counsel Don McGahn will be leaving his position in the fall, shortly after the confirmation (hopefully) of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the United States Supreme Court. I have worked with Don for a long time and truly appreciate his service!
- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 29, 2018Advertisement
McGahn has functioned as Trump's liaison to Department of Justice officials and frequently played the informal role of peacemaker as Trump has repeatedly been critical of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and his agency.
McGahn's choice of a successor is Emmet Flood, Axios reported. Flood worked in President Bill Clinton's administration and joined the Trump White House in May for work related to the Mueller investigation. He also worked in the administration of President George W. Bush, handling congressional investigations.
"Flood has experience and respect in Washington, and handled very high-profile oversight matters and congressional inquiries," a former senior Trump administration official told CNBC.
