The lead personal lawyer of President Donald Trump who is handling the investigation into Russian meddling unexpectedly resigned on Thursday.
According to The Hill, John Dowd, a prominent white-collar attorney who joined Trump’s legal team last summer, will step down after breaking with the President on key elements surrounding the probe, including whether Trump should sit for an interview with Robert Mueller.
“I love the President and I wish him well,” Dowd said to The Hill.
Dowd’s resignation is a result of the President’s attempt to shake-up his legal team amid increasing pressure over Mueller’s probe, which has cast a cloud over the administration for more than a year now.
Meanwhile, Joseph diGenova, a former U.S. attorney who has been highly critical of the FBI and Department of Justice, joined the President’s legal team. So it means that Trump’s personal legal team that is handling the Russia matter will be led by diGenova and Jay Sekulow.
“John Dowd is a friend and has been a valuable member of our legal team,” Sekulow said. “We will continue our ongoing representation of the President and our cooperation with the office of the special counsel.”
The Hill reported that earlier this week Trump extended an offer to prominent Washington attorney Theodore Olson. Olsen declined, but the President could still be looking to bolster his roster of outside attorneys in the wake of Dowd’s exit.
Dowd surprised Washington last weekend when he released a statement calling for an end to the special counsel probe, which showed a more aggressive posture by Trump’s team toward the investigation then the previous one which was based on ignoring everything connected to Mueller.
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