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| 'I love the president': John Dowd quits as Trump lawyer in Mueller investigation | |
| (34 minutes later) | |
| John Dowd, Donald Trump’s lead lawyer in the Mueller investigation, has resigned. | John Dowd, Donald Trump’s lead lawyer in the Mueller investigation, has resigned. |
| The news was first reported by the Washington Post. In an email to the Guardian, Dowd confirmed his departure and said: “I love the president and wish him well.” | The news was first reported by the Washington Post. In an email to the Guardian, Dowd confirmed his departure and said: “I love the president and wish him well.” |
| The 77-year-old left Trump’s legal team days after the hiring of Joseph DiGenova, a cable news commentator and former US attorney who has claimed the investigation into Russian election interference and alleged links between Trump aides and Moscow is an attempt to frame the president, carried out by the FBI and Department of Justice. | The 77-year-old left Trump’s legal team days after the hiring of Joseph DiGenova, a cable news commentator and former US attorney who has claimed the investigation into Russian election interference and alleged links between Trump aides and Moscow is an attempt to frame the president, carried out by the FBI and Department of Justice. |
| The shakeup comes less than two weeks after Trump insisted on Twitter he was “VERY happy” with his legal team and said his lawyers were “doing a great job”. | The shakeup comes less than two weeks after Trump insisted on Twitter he was “VERY happy” with his legal team and said his lawyers were “doing a great job”. |
| Dowd attracted attention on Saturday when he told the Daily Beast he hoped Mueller’s investigation would be shut down. | Dowd attracted attention on Saturday when he told the Daily Beast he hoped Mueller’s investigation would be shut down. |
| In an email, Dowd said “I pray” that the deputy attorney general, Rod Rosenstein, who oversees special counsel Robert Mueller, “will follow the brilliant and courageous example of the FBI Office of Professional Responsibility [OPR] and attorney general Jeff Sessions”, who fired the former deputy FBI director Andrew McCabe on Friday. | |
| That, Dowd said, would “bring an end to alleged Russia collusion investigation manufactured by McCabe’s boss James Comey based upon a fraudulent and corrupt dossier”. | That, Dowd said, would “bring an end to alleged Russia collusion investigation manufactured by McCabe’s boss James Comey based upon a fraudulent and corrupt dossier”. |
| Dowd first said he was speaking for the president but then rowed back, saying he had spoken in a personal capacity. He then told Axios that Trump “didn’t have any problem” with his statement. | Dowd first said he was speaking for the president but then rowed back, saying he had spoken in a personal capacity. He then told Axios that Trump “didn’t have any problem” with his statement. |
| Dowd had attracted controversy before. In December, he insisted “the president cannot obstruct justice” after Trump tweeted: “I had to fire [former national security adviser Michael] Flynn because he lied to the Vice President and the FBI.” | |
| The tweet raised questions about whether Trump had attempted to obstruct justice when he asked the then FBI director James Comey to halt an investigation into Flynn the day after he was fired. | |
| Dowd later insisted he wrote the tweet in question, not Trump. | Dowd later insisted he wrote the tweet in question, not Trump. |
| Before representing Trump, Dowd was best known for his role in Major League Baseball’s investigation of the all-time hits leader Pete Rose, for gambling. As a result of Dowd’s controversial report, Rose was banned from baseball and made ineligible for induction in the Hall of Fame. | |
| Trump-Russia investigation | Trump-Russia investigation |
| Trump administration | Trump administration |
| Donald Trump | Donald Trump |
| Robert Mueller | Robert Mueller |
| Russia | Russia |
| US politics | US politics |
| news | news |
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