Attorney John Dowd on Saturday called on the Justice Department to immediately shut down the special counsel investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
WASHINGTON — John Dowd, a personal attorney to President Trump, resigned his position Thursday amid a shake-up in the president’s legal team as Trump has sought more firepower to deal with the special counsel’s Russia investigation.
In an email to The Washington Post, Dowd wrote, “I love the President and wish him well.”
Dowd’s departure was a largely mutual decision made after the president lost confidence in his ability to handle special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation and Dowd became frustrated with Trump’s recent efforts to bring on new attorneys, according to three people familiar with the decision.
In recent weeks, Dowd clashed with the president, including an incident in which he disagreed vehemently with Trump over a legal strategy, according to the people.
Jay Sekulow, a Trump lawyer and spokesman for the legal team, told The Post, “John has been a valuable part of the team and a friend and we will continue to cooperate fully with the special counsel.”
Trump added former U.S. attorney Joe diGenova to his legal team last week. And on Monday, The Post reported that Trump had urged his aides to reach out to legal superstar and former solicitor general Theodore Olson to join as his lawyer as he faces a likely interview with the Special Counsel’s investigative team and scrutiny for possible obstruction of justice.
Last week, Dowd called on the Justice Department to immediately shut down the special counsel probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election, in the wake of the firing of FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe.
Dowd said in a statement that the investigation, now led by special counsel Mueller, was fatally flawed early on and “corrupted” by political bias. He called on Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who oversees that probe, to shut it down.
“I pray that Acting Attorney General Rosenstein will follow the brilliant and courageous example of the FBI Office of Professional Responsibility and Attorney General Jeff Sessions and bring an end to alleged Russia Collusion investigation manufactured by McCabe’s boss James Comey based upon a fraudulent and corrupt Dossier,” Dowd said in an emailed statement.
Dowd told The Post on Saturday he was speaking for himself and not on Trump’s behalf. Earlier Saturday, Dowd told the Daily Beast that he was speaking on behalf of the president and in his capacity as the president’s attorney. After the Daily Beast published its story, Dowd emailed the publication and said he was not speaking on the president’s behalf.
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