Tag: rod rosenstein

John Dowd, Donald Trump’s lead lawyer in the Mueller investigation into Russian election interference and alleged links between Trump aides and Moscow, resigned his role on Thursday while protesting his “love” for the president. Trump attacks Joe Biden amid reports of 2020 presidential run Read more 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 Mueller investigation is an attempt to frame the president, carried out by the FBI and Department of Justice. The shake-up comes with special counsel Robert Mueller reportedly closing in on an interview with Trump and less than two weeks after the president insisted on Twitter he was “VERY happy” with his legal team and said his lawyers were “doing a great job”. Dowd attracted unwanted attention on Saturday, in the aftermath of the firing on Friday of the former deputy FBI director Andrew McCabe. He then told Axios that Trump “didn’t have any problem” with his statement. Trump has been more aggressive in attacking the Mueller investigation, recently mentioning the special counsel by name for the first time. In December, he insisted “the president cannot obstruct justice” after Trump tweeted that he “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. The former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort has pleaded not guilty to charges including money laundering and tax and bank fraud. As a result of Dowd’s controversial report, Rose was banned from baseball and made ineligible for induction in the Hall of Fame.

Donald Trump cast doubt on memos of conversations between him and the fired FBI deputy director that have reportedly been handed to Robert Mueller, claiming Andrew McCabe did not take notes during their meetings. Trump lawyer calls for end to Russia investigation after McCabe firing Read more Seeing Trump’s offensive against McCabe as an attack on Mueller himself, several senior Republicans rallied to support the former FBI director, who is investigating Russian election interference and links between Trump aides and Moscow. Trump also targeted Comey, the FBI director he fired last May, a move that led to the appointment of Mueller. On Sunday Trey Gowdy, the Republican chair of the House oversight committee, used an appearance on Fox News Sunday to advise: “If you have an innocent client, Mr Dowd, act like it.” Jeff Flake, a Republican Arizona senator and fierce critic of the president, told CNN’s State of the Union Trump “seems to be building towards” firing Mueller, adding: “I just hope it doesn’t go there, it cannot – we cannot in Congress accept that. “Bob Mueller has conducted this investigation so far with great integrity, without leaking and by showing results and I don’t think the president is going to fire somebody like that.” If you have an innocent client, Mr Dowd, act like it Trey Gowdy Late on Sunday White House lawyer Ty Cobb said the president was not contemplating a move against Mueller. If it happened, he said, “I would hope that it would prompt all Democrats and Republicans in the House to pass an independent counsel law and reinstate Bob Mueller. The attorney general, Jeff Sessions, said on Friday he fired McCabe in part because he allowed two FBI agents to speak to a Wall Street Journal reporter about the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server while she was secretary of state and the activities of the Clinton Foundation. Senator Jeff Flake calls for Republican to challenge Trump in 2020 Read more On Saturday, Trump repeatedly claimed his innocence, tweeting: “The Mueller probe should never have been started in that there was no collusion and there was no crime. And yet, there is NO COLLUSION!” Mueller and McCabe are Republicans. … So tell me, what was it like to lose?” Dowd told the same website the president “never made that statement according to two others who were present”.

Deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein gives details on the past activity of 13 Russian nationals who have been indicted by special counsel Robert Mueller for meddling in the 2016 US elections.

The Hill: A Tea Party group on Friday announced the launch of an attack ad against Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, urging him to “do his job, or resign” following the release of a controversial GOP memo alleging surveillance abuse at…