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Trump's lead lawyer in Russia investigation quits
President Donald Trump's lead lawyer for the investigation into alleged Russian election interference has resigned from the legal team according to media reports on Thursday.
John Dowd reportedly left his post as the head of the legal team after mounting frustration over the President's repeated failure to follow his advice, after Trump recently began criticising Robert Mueller by name, rather than just his enquiry.
"I love the President and wish him well," Dowd said to the Washington Post.
Dowd called for an immediate shutdown of Mueller's investigation into links between the President's associates and Russia last week, claiming initially that he was speaking on behalf of the White House before backing down and branding the outburst as his personal opinion.
The lawyer also courted controversy in January as a tweet he claimed to have written suggested that the president was aware that former national security advisor Michael Flynn lied to the FBI during the Russia investigation, effectively implying that Trump had obstructed justice.
Jay Sekulow, counsel to the President, said: "John Dowd is a friend and has been a valuable member of our legal team. We will continue our ongoing representation of the President and our co-operation with the Office of Special Counsel."
Trump's legal team is currently deliberating over the possibility of allowing Mueller's team to interview the President, a move that Dowd was strongly opposed to.
Dowd's successor is not immediately clear as the legal team has seen a number of changes over recent weeks with Washington attorney Joseph diGenova, who has claimed that the FBI are engaged in a "brazen plot" to "frame" the President, added just three days ago.