President Donald Trump said he wanted to order the Justice Department to prosecute his former presidential opponent Hillary Clinton and former FBI Director James Comey, The New York Times reported Tuesday.

The Times, citing two people familiar with the conversation, reported that Trump made the remark in the spring to former White House counsel Don McGahn, who told the president that he had no authority to order such action by the DOJ.

To impress his point upon Trump, McGahn had White House lawyers draft a memo outlining the consequences of merely asking the DOJ to investigate his political rivals — including impeachment, the newspaper reported.

"Mr. McGahn will not comment on his legal advice to the president," said McGahn's lawyer, William Burck. "Like any client, the president is entitled to confidentiality. Mr. McGahn would point out, though, that the president never, to his knowledge, ordered that anyone prosecute Hillary Clinton or James Comey."