Graham says he won’t ask McGahn to testify

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Wednesday that he will not ask former White House counsel Don McGahn to testify before the Senate panel.

“I’m not retrying the case. I’m not calling McGahn. It is over,” Graham, an ally of President Trump, told reporters on Wednesday afternoon.

Graham’s comments came shortly after the Judiciary Committee wrapped up an hours-long hearing with Attorney General William Barr focused on the attorney general’s handling of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report.{mosads}

McGahn has emerged as a point of interest as lawmakers dig into the findings from Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and the Trump campaign, as well as potential instances of obstruction of justice by the president.

In one “episode” of potential obstruction described by Mueller, Trump in 2017 ordered McGahn to tell Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to get rid of the special counsel. But McGahn refused, warning that he would rather resign.

In a subsequent episode described by Mueller, Trump last year tried to get McGahn to deny that he ever asked the White House counsel to help fire Mueller.

Barr acknowledged during the hearing Wednesday that he has objections to McGahn testifying publicly to Congress about his interactions with Trump.

Asked by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) if Barr had “any objections” to McGahn testifying, as House Democrats have demanded, the attorney general said he did, noting that McGahn was a “close adviser to the president.”

Barr also denied that Trump had already waived executive privilege by allowing McGahn to speak to Mueller and for the special counsel’s report to be publicly released without asserting privilege over any of its contents.

“No, we haven’t waived his privilege,” Barr stated.

Barr’s use of the word “we” created an immediate storm on social media, with critics arguing it highlighted how the attorney general has operated on the president’s behalf.