Ty Cobb, the White House lawyer who had acted as the liaison between Robert Mueller’s special counsel and Donald Trump, has officially stepped down. To replace him, Trump has chosen Emmet Flood, the attorney who served as special counsel under George H.W. Bush and represented Bill Clinton during his impeachment. Flood was also Hillary Clinton’s lawyer during the whole Clinton email controversy.
White House statement on Ty Cobb’s departure, via pool. Sanders calling it a retirement. pic.twitter.com/m7eXyRDvRq
— Max Kutner (@maxkutner) May 2, 2018
According to the New York Times, we can expect Flood to take a much more hardline approach to Robert Mueller. This would be a far cry from Cobb, who had urged Trump to cooperate more with the special investigation. The Times also says that Flood is very highly regarded by conservative lawyers and judges, including Abbe Lowell, lawyer to Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. He has “connections with key players that could make him more effective than his predecessors on the legal team, including a good relationship with Donald F. McGahn II, the White House counsel.”
The turmoil on Trump's legal team continues with Ty Cobb's retirementhttps://t.co/F2piqzPGGu
— The Moscow Project (@moscow_project) May 2, 2018
Others speculate that Flood’s appointment has everything to do with the special investigation. Reports from the Washington Post say that Trump may have wanted to have a loyal lawyer by his side in the face of Mueller’s initiative to subpoena him.
Ty Cobb says there is still a path for Trump to sitdown with Mueller.
Less than an hour later, he's off the Trump legal team.
— Chris Cillizza (@ChrisCillizza) May 2, 2018
Source familiar with Cobb's departure says WH lawyer had been clashing with Trump in recent weeks: "Ty was uncomfortable with the Mueller tweets…" and was not going to be "part of a mud slinging campaign." Cobb made it clear to POTUS, legal team he "can't go down that path."
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) May 2, 2018
Ty Cobb confirms to the @latimes that he's been "working with the personnel folks here for a few weeks on a retirement date."
He doesn't say exactly when he'll be leaving, but he adds, "glad the President persuaded Emmet to carry the torch forward."
— Chris Megerian (@ChrisMegerian) May 2, 2018
Politico reports that White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders welcomes the prospect of working with Flood since she believes he will aid in their battle against the special counsel, or the “Russia witch hunt.”
Trump's lawyers in Russia probe:
6.12.17 – Jay Sekulow joins
7.14.17 – Ty Cobb joins
7.21.17 – Marc Kasowitz departs
3.19.18 – Joe diGenova joins
3.22.18 – John Dowd departs
3.2.18 – diGenova departs
4.19.18 – Rudy Giuliani, Jane Serene, Marty Raskin join
5.2.18 – Cobb departs— David P Gelles (@gelles) May 2, 2018