On Wednesday The New York Times reported that Ty Cobb, President Trump’s lead attorney in matters relating to Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russian probe, is retiring.
Cobb joined President Trump’s legal team last summer as the President’s friends and advisors encouraged the President to fire Mueller, Cobb feared that the special counsel was on the verge of issuing subpoenas demanding documents and testimony of White House aides. This fear prompted Cobb to reassure the public that there were no plans to fire Mueller.
In a statement to CBS News White House correspondent Major Garrett, Cobb said, it’s been an honor to serve the country, he added:
I am going to be retiring at the end of the month,” Cobb said. “I have been in discussions with (chief of staff John) Kelly on that for a few weeks. It’s real. I don’t mind being regarded as a peacemaker. People will think this means we’re going to war but I would not read that into this. This is good for me. I have postponed many orthopedic procedures and basically been living in an attic. It’s been a real sacrifice for me. The president wanted me to stay. The key point is all the documents requested by the special counsel were produced by late October. All the interviews with White House personnel were conducted by late January. The bulk of the work was done. It’s easier for me to leave now.”
The White House press secretary Sarah Sanders issued a statement via CNN News:
Cobb has been discussing his retirement for several weeks and let chief of staff John Kelly know he would be retiring at the end of May.
It has also been suggested by The New York Times that President Trump will hire Emmet Flood, former President Bill Clinton’s impeachment lawyer, but the Times cautions:
Mr. Flood’s hiring has not been made final, the people cautioned, noting Mr. Trump’s practice of reneging on personnel decisions after they are reported in the press.
President Trump’s legal team in regards to the handling of the Russian investigation has seen many changes over the past few months, in March John Dowd left the team, it was suspected he would be replaced with former prosecuting attorney and Fox News legal analyst, Joe diGenova, but due to conflicts of interest he was unable to join the team, instead former Mayor of New York, Rudy Giuliani, joined the team in mid April.
*Flashback*
The Failing New York Times purposely wrote a false story stating that I am unhappy with my legal team on the Russia case and am going to add another lawyer to help out. Wrong. I am VERY happy with my lawyers, John Dowd, Ty Cobb and Jay Sekulow. They are doing a great job and…..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 11, 2018
…have shown conclusively that there was no Collusion with Russia..just excuse for losing. The only Collusion was that done by the DNC, the Democrats and Crooked Hillary. The writer of the story, Maggie Haberman, a Hillary flunky, knows nothing about me and is not given access.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 11, 2018
*End flashback*
Update:
A new White House statement has been issued on the hiring of Emmet Flood:
Just in from Sarah Sanders: “Emmet Flood will be joining the White House Staff to represent the President and the administration against the Russia witch hunt. Ty Cobb, a friend of the President, who has done a terrific job, will be retiring at the end of the month."
— Philip Rucker (@PhilipRucker) May 2, 2018
This is a developing story and will be update as needed.
