Trump shakes up his legal defense team with John Dowd's resignation
WASHINGTON — The shake-up of President Trump's legal team continued Thursday with the resignation of attorney John Dowd.
"I love the president, and I wish him well," Dowd said in a brief statement.
The move comes at a critical juncture for the president whose lawyers are in the midst of negotiations with Russia special counsel Robert Mueller over terms of a possible interview with Trump.
On Thursday, the president reaffirmed his willingness to meet with Mueller, telling reporters following a trade event at the White House: "Yes, I would like to."
Dowd's departure comes just three days after former federal prosecutor Joseph diGenova joined Trump's team, as the president escalated his criticism of Mueller's inquiry into Russia's interference in the 2016 election.
The appointment of diGenova, who himself has offered strong rebukes of the Mueller investigation, likely signals a more aggressive push by Trump's legal team that had once pledged full cooperation with Mueller's investigators.
DiGenova has cast the Russia inquiry as "an attempt to frame an incoming president with a false Russia conspiracy."
The outspoken Dowd, who had taken leadership of the legal team last summer following the ouster of Trump's longtime personal attorney Marc Kasowitz, stood out for both his direct and sometimes brusque manner.
Last August, Dowd raised eyebrows when he acknowledged in an interview with USA TODAY that Trump had sent private messages of "appreciation" to Mueller.
Dowd cast the communications then as a sign that the president was willing to cooperate with Mueller.
“We get along well with Bob Mueller; our communications have been constructive,’’ the attorney said then. “But it is important that our communications remain confidential. It’s important that there not be any breakdown in that trust.’’
But just Saturday Dowd appeared to depart from that course of cooperation when he called on Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who oversees Mueller's inquiry at the Justice Department, to "bring an end to the alleged Russia collusion investigation."
Dowd's remarks were a prelude to a series of recent tweets from Trump, who has called on Mueller directly to shutter the inquiry, repeatedly referring to the investigation as a "witch hunt."
Mueller has not responded publicly to Trump. But last week, Rosenstein offered his unqualified support for the special counsel.
"The special counsel is not an unguided missile," Rosenstein said in an interview with USA TODAY. "I don't believe there is any justification at this point for terminating the special counsel."
Dowd initial appointment to the team was striking for his reputation as a legal brawler who once led Major League Baseball’s investigation into all-time hit king Pete Rose. The inquiry resulted in his banishment from from the game.
When he spoke of the president, he always offered his unconditional support.
"I don't think I've ever seen a president so poorly and unfairly treated by the press,'' Dowd said last summer, explaining why he accepted Kasowitz's invitation to join the team. "It's a hate campaign. The hostility directed at the president and his family is ridiculous.''
posted by Unknown @ March 22, 2018
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