Many lawyers want to help me in Russia probe: Trump

Pic courtesy: Reuters (File image)

Washington: US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that "many lawyers" want to help him in the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election amid speculation suggesting that the president is having difficulty finding a new attorney after the departure of one of his top legal representatives last week.

"Many lawyers and top law firms want to represent me in the Russia case...don't believe the Fake News narrative that it is hard to find a lawyer who wants to take this on," said Trump on Twitter.

The statement comes after his main attorney, John Dowd, stepped down on Thursday from his position representing Trump in Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe, Efe reported.

The Washington Post suggested this past week that Trump was having difficulty finding top-quality attorneys to represent him in the case, citing multiple advisers to the president familiar with the negotiations.

"Fame & fortune will NEVER be turned down by a lawyer, though some are conflicted," Trump continued in a pair of tweets on the subject.

According to The Post, some law firms have said that they "do not want the controversy of representing a divisive and unpopular president" while others have claimed that they have existing clients presenting conflicts of interest should they also take on Trump as a client.

In any case, Trump said that the "Problem is that a new...lawyer or law firm will take months to get up to speed (if for no other reason than they can bill more), which is unfair to our great country -- and I am very happy with my existing team."

"Besides, there was NO COLLUSION with Russia, except by Crooked Hillary and the Dems!" he concluded.

Last week, Trump's attorneys provided documents to Mueller on the Russia matter with the aim of avoiding having the president personally interviewed as part of that investigation, The Post reported.

The daily, citing two sources familiar with the facts, said that the documents included written descriptions of key moments and incidents under investigation in the hope of reducing the possibility that Mueller might question the mogul.

Trump's legal team, according to the same sources, is concerned that the magnate might expose himself legally in a lengthy interview, above all because of his well-known tendency for making imprecise and/or factually inaccurate statements.