Is Trump's legal team 'poised for a shakeup'? Ted Olson turned down representation, partner tweets
Theodore Olson/Photo by Marc Mauldin.
Theodore Olson won’t be joining the legal team of President Donald Trump, according to a partner at Olson’s firm, Gibson Dunn.
Ted Boutros said in a tweet posted in response to a Washington Post report that Olson will not represent Trump.
Anonymous sources told the Post that Olson was asked to join the president’s legal team in the Russia investigation, and Olson was reviewing the offer. The National Law Journal has a story on Boutros’ tweet, while the Associated Press also reported that Olson was turning down the offer.
Acccording to AP, Gibson Dunn “is already entangled in the Russia investigation” as a result of its representation of Fusion GPS, the company that compiled a dossier about Russia connections.
Olson told the Post he wouldn’t comment.
The reported offer was made as another lawyer joined the legal team. He is Joseph diGenova, a former U.S. attorney who once told Fox News he believes there was “a brazen plot” to frame Trump.
The New York Times reported on Monday that Trump’s legal team “was poised for a shakeup.” Relying on anonymous sources, the article said Trump was openly discussing whether to fire lawyer Ty Cobb, who has urged cooperation in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. However, a source told the newspaper that the president reportedly assured Cobb there were no plans to fire him.
The Times also reported that Trump’s lead lawyer, John Dowd, has considered quitting because he has no control over the president’s behavior.
The current legal team has shared with the special counsel’s office documents that contain written descriptions of key incidents being investigated, the Washington Post reported on Monday. The aim is to restrict the scope of a possible interview with Trump.
Olson had previously turned down an overture to represent Trump, according to reports.
Olson represented George W. Bush in the Bush v. Gore case that resulted in Bush winning the 2000 election, the Washington Post reports in a separate story about Olson. He later served as solicitor general in Bush’s administration.
Though he is viewed as conservative, Olson joined David Boies to fight California’s ban on same-sex marriage.
I can confirm that @gibsondunn and Theodore B. Olson will not be representing @realDonaldTrump
— Ted Boutrous (@BoutrousTed) March 20, 2018
