John Dowd quits as Trump’s lead lawyer in Mueller probe

Washington: John Dowd, the lead lawyer for US President Donald Trump in the Mueller investigation, resigned on Thursday.

In an email to the Guardian, Down confirmed the departure and said, “I love the president and wish him well.”

77-year-old Dowd resigned days after the Trump’s legal team hired former US attorney Joseph DiGenova, who had raised questions over the investigation conducted by the FBI and the US Department of Justice regarding the alleged Russian interference in the US elections.

As per a media report, US President Donald Trump on Thursday had expressed his willingness to speak to Robert Mueller in regard to the Russia probe.

This comes two weeks after Trump tweeted “I am VERY happy with my lawyers, John Dowd, Ty Cobb and Jay Sekulow. They are doing a great job and…..”

Dowd had earlier released a statement calling on Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who oversees Mueller’s investigation, to shut down the probe.

“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 deputy FBI director Andrew McCabe),” Dowd was quoted as saying.

Earlier Dowd had reportedly said that President Trump could not obstruct justice when the latter tweeted “I had to fire [former national security adviser Michael] Flynn because he lied to the Vice President and the FBI”.

Robert Mueller was hired to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 US Presidential election. (ANI)