With questions about whether the Trump team colluded with Russian operatives during the 2016 campaign dominating headlines for yet another week, President Donald Trump has funneled much of his anger at Marc Kasowitz, the attorney leading his outside legal team, according to a New York Times report Tuesday night.
Trump has become “disillusioned by Mr. Kasowitz’s strategy” regarding the various probes into Russian interference in the U.S. election, the Times reported, citing three anonymous “people close to the legal team.”
Kasowitz, for his part, is also frustrated with the President, according to the report. His team of lawyers has been complaining about Jared Kushner’s influence on the President and considering whether Kasowitz should resign, per the Times:
The president’s lawyers view Mr. Kushner as an obstacle and a freelancer more concerned about protecting himself than his father-in-law, the person said. While no ultimatum has been delivered, the lawyers have told colleagues that they cannot keep operating that way, raising the prospect that Mr. Kasowitz may resign.
Kasowitz also told ProPublica recently that he does not have a security clearance and does not plan on trying to secure one, a move that could prove to be an obstacle as he tried to defend the President through investigations involving sensitive matters.
The latest headache for the Trump administration centers around a recently reported meeting Donald Trump, Jr. had in June 2016 with a Kremlin-linked lawyer (his brother-in-law Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort, the former campaign chairman, were also in attendance). Trump Jr. on Tuesday released emails showing that a publicist offered to set up the meeting with a “Russian government attorney” who supposedly had dirt on Hillary Clinton. The publicist also wrote explicitly that the meeting would be part of the Russian government’s efforts to help the Trump campaign, and Trump Jr. agreed to the meeting, apparently without hesitation.
The revelations assure that the Russia probes will continue to dominate media headlines, and the controversy has angered President Trump as he tries to push his policy agenda.
