President Trump’s lead lawyer for the special counsel investigation, John Dowd,
resigned on Thursday as his strategy for cooperating with the inquiry
grew increasingly at odds with the president’s desire for a more
aggressive posture.
Dowd, who took over the president’s legal team last summer and
considered leaving several times, ultimately concluded that President
Trump was ignoring his advice
According to the Washington Post, “I love the president,” Mr. Dowd
said in a telephone interview. “I wish him the best of luck. I think he
has a really good case.”
His departure marked the most significant shake-up for the
president’s legal team in months and underscores the president’s growing
frustration with the investigation by the special counsel, Robert S.
Mueller III, into Russia’s election interference and possible ties to
Trump associates as well as whether the president obstructed the
inquiry.
Up until now, Mr Trump’s top lawyers have been
pledging full co-operation with Robert Mueller’s investigation, assuring
that a timely but thorough review of the evidence will end in complete
exoneration.
The president has in recent days begun publicly assailing Mueller, a
shift in tone that appears to be born of Trump’s concern that the
investigation is bearing down on him more directly. He has also insisted
he should sit for an interview with the special counsel’s office, even
though Dowd believed it was a bad idea.
Mr Mueller is reportedly looking
into Mr Trump’s business dealings and foreign contacts with the Trump
administration beyond just Russia – suggesting that his investigation is
nowhere near drawing to a close.
The president has been counselled to be patient. That patience could be wearing thin.