Mueller Has Early Draft of Trump Letter Giving Reasons for Firing Comey<br />Mr. Rosenstein’s letter was ultimately used as the Trump administration’s public rationale for Mr. Comey’s firing, which was<br />that Mr. Comey had mishandled the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private email server.<br />WASHINGTON — The special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, has obtained a letter drafted by President Trump and a top political aide<br />that offered an unvarnished view of Mr. Trump’s thinking in the days before the president fired the F. B.I.<br />Mr. McGahn successfully blocked the president from sending the letter — which Mr. Trump had<br />composed with Stephen Miller, one of the president’s top political advisers — to Mr. Comey.<br />The circumstances and reasons for the firing are believed to be a significant element of Mr. Mueller’s<br />investigation, which includes whether Mr. Trump obstructed justice by firing Mr. Comey.<br />Mr. McGahn met again that same day with Mr. Trump and told him that if he fired Mr. Comey, the Russia investigation would not go away.<br />Several people who saw Mr. Miller’s multi-page draft described it as a “screed.”<br />Mr. Trump was back in Washington on Monday, May 8, when copies of the letter were handed out<br />in the Oval Office to senior officials, including Mr. McGahn and Vice President Mike Pence.<br />Instead, Mr. Trump stewed indoors, worrying about Mr. Comey and the Russia investigation.<br />Mr. Trump was angry that Mr. Comey had privately told him three times that he was not under investigation, yet would not clear his name publicly.
