obstruction of justice. but there is now a sub text that people in the white house will say to you, it is unclear to them whether donald trump can effectively govern. whether he is capable of it in te terms of his own ability, conduct and whether or not things have gotten to the point where the wheels are coming off of this presidency. we don t know that. but certainly people in the white house are openly with each other and with journalist raising those kinds of questions. it is not clear who has authority and what authority. and it has been that way from the beginning. indeed, but as people disappear like hope hicks was one of the side kicks and i remember talking to her about what job she was going to take after the election. and she said, i just don t want to be involved in the hand to hand combat of the daily coverage. and she did step back from that.
substantive matters. so much stuff goes through her as a conduit that she sits in a particularly important seat for mueller. reporter: and hicks was involved in the aftermath of don juniors meeting last year. helping craft the infamous press release saying the meeting was about adoption. she also craft the initial allegations of domestic abuse by porter. porter denied the allegations and resigned. the woman who rarely says a word in public will be taking her silence with her as she departs the white house. randi kaye, cnn, new york. more on her departure, joining us now quajoaquin castr
and thank you, donald trump. reporter: with her position in the white house, hicks gained access to the world stage, taking part in this intimate gathering with the pope and also the japanese prime minister s state banquet where hicks stole the spotlight in her black tuxedo. her access to the president put her at the center of several key investigations too. on russia, she s been interviewed by special prosecutor robert mueller s team multiple times. just yesterday, she was in front of the house intelligence committee answering questions for about eight hours, admitting that sometimes she was required to tell white lies in the trump administration, but insisting she never lied about substantive matters. so much stuff goes through her as the conduit between outsiders and the president that she really sits in a particularly important seat for mueller. reporter: and hicks was also involved in the aftermath of don junior s meeting with a russian lawyer at trump tower last year. onboa
aides pitched in and bought him a bulletproof vest with his name on it. suggesting that he might wear it to work. you are learning about the kind of things the president says to others about the attorney general. derisive about attorney general sessions referring to him as mr. mcgoo, the comic character that was shortsighted and bumbling. he likes to refer to him as a mr. mcgoo. i always thought mr. mcgoo was sweet. i don t think president trump thinks jeff sessions is sweet. thanks very much.
white lies yesterday on capitol hill, what do we know about what actually happened. according to the white house official i spoke with there was nothing nefarious quote-unquote about hicks departure. according to white house officials this had nothing to do with rob porter and the comments she made yesterday. when she said from time to time she has to tell little white lies on behalf of the president. it was said to me this had nothing to do with the mueller investigation. we will have to see if that comes to light. this is something she wanted to do. and the white house put out glowing statements from the president and the chief of staff praising hope hicks. and the president in his statement left the door open with working with hicks in the future.