Trump may reshuffle legal team to take on Mueller Risk of obstruction charges over McCabe firing, say legal experts
DEALING WITH THE DEVIL US prez ignores his lawyers’ advice, reverts to publicly assailing the Russia investigation
US President Donald Trump’s legal team was poised for a shake-up on Monday, according to two people briefed on the matter, as he openly discussed firing one of his lawyers, another considered resigning and a third — who pushed theories on television that Trump was framed by the FBI — joined the roster.
Trump has weighed aloud in recent days to close associates whether to dismiss his lawyer Ty Cobb, who had pushed most strongly a strategy of cooperating fully with the special counsel investigation. Trump reassured Cobb that he had no plans to fire him, according to a person who spoke with him on Monday.
Trump’s lead lawyer John Dowd has contemplated leaving because he has concluded that he has no control over the behaviour of the president, the two people briefed on the matter said.
Ignoring his lawyers’ advice, Trump has reverted to a more aggressive strategy of publicly assailing the inquiry that he initially adopted in the weeks immediately after the special counsel, Robert Mueller, was appointed. Now Trump has begun attacking Mueller himself.
The shift in tone appears to be a product of Trump’s concern that the investigation into possible ties between his associates
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and Russia’s election interference is bearing down on him more directly. And the legal team’s collapse comes as his lawyers are confronting one of their most critical tasks: advising Trump on whether to agree to sit for an interview with the special counsel’s office.
Dowd said he had no plans to leave the team. Cobb has told people that Trump has recently implored him to stay.
In another sign of Trump’s more aggressive posture, on Monday he hired Joseph E diGenova, a longtime Washington lawyer who has appeared regularly on Fox News in recent months to claim that the FBI and the justice department had manufactured evidence against Trump to aid Hillary Clinton.
Little evidence has emerged to support that theory.
Trump is also discussing adding other lawyers to the team, according to one person with knowledge of the matter.
The tumult marked the greatest instability on the team since Trump pushed aside his personal lawyer last summer, and was passed over by many of Washington’s top lawyers before he settled on his current crop of attorneys.
Mueller’s investigation is continuing. As it goes forward, Trump has questioned his lawyers’ approach and clashed with them about whether to be interviewed by Mueller. Trump believes he is his best spokesman and can explain to Mueller that he did nothing wrong. The lawyers see little upside.
US President Donald Trump’s firing of FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe risks strengthening allegations that he is obstructing the Russia meddling investigation of special counsel Robert Mueller, legal experts say.
Trump could be making a calculated gamble by painting potential witnesses against him like McCabe and former FBI director James Comey as unreliable. But increasingly, his derogatory tweets about both, making clear he wanted them fired, have stoked accusations that he is illegally interfering with Mueller’s probe — a charge that would threaten the viability of his presidency.
The theoretical case of obstruction begins with Comey’s allegations that Trump pressured him last year.
It could include false testimony by Trump aides, Trump’s reported demands to fire attorney general Jeff Sessions and Mueller, possible attempts to cover up campaign contacts with Russians and other behaviour, including McCabe’s sacking.
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