Insiders reveal how Donald Trump used his presidential power to target enemies - as secret White House documents show how top aides desperately tried to 'contain his impulses'

Insiders from Donald Trump's term in the White House have warned that he often tried to use his presidential powers to target his personal enemies. 

The former president made no secret during his time in office of attacking his opponents, often in public, but a renewed focus on that time has shed light on how he allegedly overstepped with his power. 

This included Trump's reported fury at the Department of Justice for not prosecuting Hillary Clinton and former FBI chief James Comey in 2018, leading his chief counsel to warn not to try and circumvent his attorney general with his own prosecution. 

While some loyal officials carried out his instructions, an investigation by the New York Times has found others in Trump's administration went to great efforts to contain his impulses and save the president from potential legal peril. 

Trump's alleged disregard for the justice system has come under scrutiny in the home stretch of the presidential race as he has frequently threatened to carry out retribution for what he perceives as a wave of unfair indictments since he left the presidency. 

When it came to Trump's attempts to prosecute Clinton and Comey in 2018, the president was reportedly insistent on the move as a response to an investigation into his presidential campaign's ties to Russia. 

In one meeting in the Oval Office from that time, Trump reportedly fumed at his Attorney General Jeff Sessions for not yet bringing any charges against the two, and warned that if Sessions didn't he would do so himself. 

This sparked concern with White House counsel Donald F. McGahn II, who recognized the backlash such a move could bring and led him to try and hammer home the legal ramifications at stake. 

According to witnesses who spoke with the New York Times, McGahn responded: 'How about I do this... I’m going to write you a memo explaining to you what the law is and how it works.

'And I’ll give that memo to you, and you can decide what you want to do.' 

A draft of McGahn's memo to Trump shows the counsel believed the president was intent on going around his own cabinet if needed. 

'You’ve asked what steps you may lawfully take if you disagree with the attorney general’s decision not to pursue criminal prosecution or not to conduct further criminal investigation,' a reported section read. 

The memo told Trump that while presidents naturally have influence over their DOJ's decision making, even indirectly, his presidential powers had very strict limitations. 

'(Presidents do not have the authority) to initiate an investigation or prosecution yourself or circumvent the attorney general by directing a different official to pursue a prosecution or investigation,' the memo said. 

The reported warnings from insiders about their efforts to curb Trump's instincts are all the more pointed as he faces a second term, with the former president frequently signaling that he would fill a second administration with more loyal officials. 

A second Trump term would also be emboldened by a Supreme Court ruling in July that offers former presidents broad immunity from prosecution for any 'official acts' they take while in the White House. 

Despite the warnings issued to Trump - which included floating the possibility of impeachment - insiders were reportedly so concerned that he was not listening that they smuggled such memos out of the White House in case of future investigations. 

At least two staffers also took notes from their meetings with Trump as evidence of how he wanted to overstep the bounds of his office, according to the New York Times.  

Just a month after he reportedly fumed over Comey and Clinton, Trump found himself a new target - former Secretary of State John Kerry. 

Kerry caught Trump's ire because he had played a central role in negotiating the Iran nuclear deal under President Obama, and had allegedly kept in contact with Iranian diplomats after Trump trashed the deal when in office. 

Trump publicly questioned whether Kerry had broken the law by keeping these contacts going at the same time Trump was trying to end the deal. 

Kerry did not face criminal charges, avoiding the president's efforts as did other alleged targets such as Comey, Andrew McCabe, the FBI deputy director, and Peter Strzok, the lead F.B.I. agent from the Russia investigation.  

While not all Trump's targets were successfully prosecuted, some were still placed under intense scrutiny and put through rounds of costly legal fights to clear their names.