White House counsel Don McGahn to depart in the fall

Donald Trump, the USA president, confirmed his departure in a tweet on Wednesday.

Trump's announcement came more than a week after a New York Times report that McGahn had been cooperating extensively with Mueller's investigation into Russian election meddling and possible collusion with Trump's Republican campaign.

McGahn has been working to appoint judges, including Supeme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, to federal courts.

When Trump sought the firing of Mueller in June 2017, McGahn threatened to resign over the proposed move, according to two people familiar with the exchange.

Trump made the announcement on Twitter on Wednesday, ending widespread speculation about McGahn, who will be the latest in a long string of high-ranking advisers to leave Trump's side.

McGahn has recommended Trump name Emmet Flood, who three senior officials said is trusted and respected inside the White House, to succeed him as counsel, Axios reports.

White House Counsel and Assistant to the President, Don McGahn, is reportedly eyeing an exit this fall.

Trump instead insisted that he allowed McGahn and others to cooperate with Mueller because he had "nothing to hide" and wanted to get to the end of the probe.

Vanity Fair reported on Monday that McGahn refused to participate in the pardoning process and that Trump considered bringing on a new lawyer.

He added, while it is "probably the case" McGahn is leaving for a more lucrative position elsewhere, he questioned why the administration chose to announce it at this time. There has been speculation the job would go to Emmett Flood, a veteran Washington lawyer who joined the White House in May to help with the Russian Federation probe.

"That was not, I think, McGahn's strategy", Schiff said on CNN. Problem was, Trump couldn't find anyone to replace him.

Sessions, a former Republican senator from Alabama, responded with a rare public statement, saying that he and his department "will not be improperly influenced by political considerations".

Before joining the Trump campaign and the White House, McGahn worked at the powerful DC law firm Jones Day and previously served as a commissioner on the Federal Election Commission.

The news was met with dismay by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, who wrote in a tweet addressed to Trump: "U can't let that happen".