There's been a shakeup in President Trump's legal team. According to CBS News White House correspondent Major Garrett, Marc Kasowitz is out as Mr. Trump's personal attorney, while Kasowitz's spokesman, Mark Corallo - who has had a rocky relationship with Trump in the past - has resigned.
News: Marc Kasowitz out as @POTUS attorney - legal team now Cobb, Sekulow & Dowd. Sounds like a law firm but is not. Corrallo has resigned.
— Major Garrett (@MajorCBS) July 21, 2017
While Kasowitz had represented Trump since the early 2000s, and led his defense in the Trump University fraud case, the prominent lawyer recently made negative headlines when he sent threatening emails to a retired public relations professional who had said Kasowitz should resign. In his first response, Kasowitz wrote "F*** you," according to ProPublica. Kasowitz wrote a number of emails after that, including one that said, "And you don't know me, but I will know you How dare you send me an email like that I'm on you now You are f****** with me now Let's see who you are Watch your back, b****."
Corallo is a longtime GOP operative who worked for the House committee that investigated President Clinton in the 1990s before going to the Justice Department under former Attorney General John Ashcroft, according to Politico. Politico reports Corallo had been handling the White House's defense in the Russia investigation. In a bizarre incident, last month The New York Times reported that Corallo had previously used Twitter to criticize the president and his administration.
“Hey Mr. President, where's all the ‘winning?’” Corallo tweeted last month, a reference to former President Bill Clinton. He also used Twitter to criticize Trump’s reliance on son-in-law and White House adviser Jared Kushner, calling Kushner part of the “swamp” Trump promised to drain. Corallo’s message also split from that of many other Trump allies, who were critical of Mueller. What may have sealed Corallo's fate is that days before he accepted the role as Kasowitz's spokesman, he praised Mueller for his integrity and honor.
On Friday morning, Corallo, confirmed he has resigned in an emailed statement, while giving no other details about his departure.
After the shake up Trump's legal team will be composed of Ty Cobb, Jay Sekulow and John Dowd, CBS reports. Cobb joined the president's legal team earlier this week.
That team has been pushing back against Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe, trying to keep it from expanding into the business dealings of Trump and his family, Garrett reports. The president's legal team is trying to keep the special counsel focused, to the extent it can, on the Russia angle. In an interview The New York Times published Wednesday, Trump called the special counsel's investigation a "violation," saying it crossed a red line.
With multiple and overlapping probes from the special counsel's office to the Capitol, some investigators are also looking into purchases of units in Trump properties. Mr. Trump told the Times "it's possible there's a condo or something," but said he doesn't make any money off Russia. CBS News also reported that Mueller is investigating the business dealings of Paul Manafort, Trump's former campaign manager. The U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan had been looking into Manafort, according to a source, but now that probe has been turned over to Mueller's investigators.
Separately, on Thursday night, the WaPo reported citing "people familiar with situation" that Trump has asked advisers about the power to pardon aides, family members and even himself in connection with special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe. The newspaper added that Trump’s lawyers are looking at ways to limit or undercut Mueller’s investigation by alleging conflicts of interest.