BRETT KAVANAUGH/LEGAL/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “In recent months, President Donald Trump rarely spoke with Don McGahn. It’s not clear he even likes his top White House lawyer and campaign consigliere, who left his West Wing job Wednesday after 20 months fraught with plenty of tension and chaos, as well as some big wins for the conservative movement. But when it came time to award credit for winning the epic Brett Kavanaugh confirmation battle, Trump made sure McGahn got his due. On the Monday night after the close Senate vote, Trump huddled with top aides in his residence to review the draft of a prime-time speech he planned to give to show off his latest Supreme Court justice. McGahn’s name was not mentioned in the version before him, so Trump suggested aides add it, according to one White House official — alongside praise for Republican senators, other justices and Maureen Scalia, Justice Antonin Scalia’s widow, who planned to attend that night…But while McGahn accomplished big things in a few key areas, he also may have left the president exposed to an enormous level of political and legal risk over the next two years, say his critics. “
–Nancy Cook, “Don McGahn Leaves Trump With Big Wins — And Big Risks,” Politico, October 17, 2018