Uncertainty in White House as Trump relies on Fox TV and calls to friends


Developments on Day 423 of the Trump Administration:

Trump Hires a Conspiracy-Theory Pundit

Frustrated and angered by the ever-closing Russia investigation of Special Counsel Robert Mueller, Donald Trump shakes up his legal team.

Trump hired Joe diGenova, a former prosecutor and TV pundit who has declared that Trump is the target of an elaborate FBI conspiracy. He joins a team facing not only the Trump-Russia inquiry but also Stormy Daniels, the porn star who claims a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006 — and who was paid $130,000 by another Trump lawyer, Michael Cohen, in October 2016 to stay quiet.

Trump has spoken to close associates about dismissing lawyer Ty Cobb, who has advocated a strategy of full cooperation with the investigation. However, Trump reassured Cobb that he had no plans to fire him, according to a person who spoke with Trump late Monday — in part to prevent a narrative that his team is in disarray, after The New York Times asked about the situation.

Mr. Trump’s chief personal lawyer, John Dowd, has contemplated leaving his post because he has concluded that he has no control over Trump’s behavior, according to “two people briefed on the matter”.

Dowd said Monday night that he has no plans to leave: “I’m sitting here working on the President’s case right now.” But “people familiar with his reaction” said Dowd reacted angrily to diGenova’s appointment, even as Dowd said in an e-mail to a Washington Post reporter, “Love Joe”.

Early Monday, for the third day in a row, Trump shouted at Mueller on Twitter:

See TrumpWatch, Day 422: Trump Maintains Twitter Assault on Mueller Over Russia Inquiry

DiGenova’s punditry fits that aggressive approach. He said on Fox TV in January, without evidence:

There was a brazen plot to illegally exonerate Hillary Clinton and, if she didn’t win the election, to then frame Donald Trump with a falsely created crime.

Make no mistake about it: A group of FBI and DOJ [Department of Justice] people were trying to frame Donald Trump of a falsely created crime.

Trump’s Surprise Decision

Sources said diGenova’s hiring caught advisors by surprise. Trump is not consult Chief of Staff John F. Kelly and chief White House lawyer Don McGahn over his decisions or Twitter blasts at Mueller, instead relying on TV — especially Fox and Friends — and calling friends.

One source, who spoke to Trump in recent days, said Trump complains that his lawyers are not protecting him and that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein — the only official who can formally dismiss Mueller — is up to mischief.

Trump’s legal team are trying to stave off a Trump interview with Mueller, fearing that the President will be vulnerable because of statements that are often loosely connected with reality and truth. They have given Mueller’s office documents with written descriptions of key moments under investigation.

But the effort has been complicated by varying statements from the legal team. On Saturday, John Dowd told The Daily Beast that he was speaking for Trump when he said he was “praying” for the end of the Russia investigation.

As the remark raised suspicions that Trump was about to fire Mueller, Dowd — apparently pressed by the White House — walked the statement back, saying he was only speaking in a personal capacity.