John Dowd, Donald Trump’s lead lawyer during the special council investigation, resigned from his position with the president, The New York Times reports. Dowd left the position because he reportedly “concluded” that Trump was not taking his advice seriously.
According to The Washington Post‘s report on the resignation, it was mostly a “mutual decision” due to the president doubting Dowd’s handling of Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election and Dowd’s own frustrations about Trump trying to hire additional lawyers.
This also comes after, on March 11, Trump tweeted that he was all-caps “VERY happy” with his legal team.
The Failing New York Times purposely wrote a false story stating that I am unhappy with my legal team on the Russia case and am going to add another lawyer to help out. Wrong. I am VERY happy with my lawyers, John Dowd, Ty Cobb and Jay Sekulow. They are doing a great job and…..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 11, 2018
The Times called Dowd’s leaving “the most significant shake-up for the president’s legal team in months” as Mueller’s investigation continues. Tension continues to build between Trump and Mueller because of the investigation.
Dowd was reportedly against Trump’s idea to sit for an interview with Mueller’s office, according to CNBC, with was that catalyst for the resignation. Another lawyer on the team, Jay Sekulow, released a statement on the issue, “We will continue our ongoing representation of the President and our cooperation with the Office of Special Counsel.”
Sources close to Trump’s legal team revealed that Dowd may be replaced by Marc Kasowitz, who was the lead lawyer in the investigation before Dowd, CNBC said.
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