Attorney Who Declined A Job On Trump’s Legal Team Rips ‘Turmoil’ In White House
“This is turmoil, it’s chaos, it’s confusion, it’s not good for anything,” said attorney Ted Olson.
A veteran Washington, D.C., lawyer who reportedly turned down an offer to join Donald Trump ’s legal team has criticized the “turmoil” and “chaos” in the White House. He also indicated that attorneys aren’t as eager to work for Trump as the president has claimed
Ted Olson, who served as solicitor general in President George W. Bush’s administration, rejected an offer to join Trump’s legal team and represent the president in special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Russian election interference, CNN and The Washington Post reported last Tuesday.
"Two more high-power attorneys have had to turn down President Donald Trump. Tom Buchanan and Dan Webb confirmed to The Daily Beast that Trump reached out to them about representing him, and that they couldn’t do it.
“President Trump reached out to Dan Webb and Tom Buchanan to provide legal representation,” they said in a statement. “They were unable to take on the representation due to business conflicts. However they consider the opportunity to represent the President to be the highest honor and they sincerely regret that they cannot do so. They wish the president the best and believe he has excellent representation in Ty Cobb and Jay Sekulow.”
Buchanan is a partner at the firm Winston & Strawn, in its Washington office. Webb is the firm’s co-executive chairman, based in Chicago, according to the firm’s website.
A spokesperson for the White House did not immediately return a request for comment."
Asked Sunday on MSNBC about ongoing Cabinet shakeups and “government by Twitter” in the Trump administration, Olson criticized the White House for turmoil “beyond normal.”
He also indicated that attorneys aren’t as eager to work for Trump as the president has claimed.
I admit that I didn't like Ted Olson when he represented Dubya during the recount in 2000. However if there is one thing you can say about him is that he is true to the law and fairness right down the line, no matter which side of which party it puts him on. Which is why he fought for and helped win for gay marriage and thinks that Trump's attempts to ban Trans-sexuals from serving in the military is terrible and unconstitutional and may get involved with the case himself, if he is asked. I believe he won't be able to resist if the case get's rough.
I am not at all surprised he would not want to put his reputation on the line for a client who does not listen to his attorneys advice and is famous for not paying them anyway.
Pretty much no ethical or competent person wants to be associated with Trump in any way. Plus he's used to employing consigliere rather than attorneys.
Olson is a straight shooter... and smart. There's no way he would get involved with Trump.
To me he is like Mueller. A Republican, but someone I think I can trust to be completely honest at his job. If he says something is right or wrong, I take him at his word. It's the same if Mueller finishes his investigation and clears Trump, then that's it for me and as far as I am concerned Trump is clear. If Olson had agreed to work for Trump I would have lost all respect for him.
Apparently this is really getting to be a real problem for Trump-- few lawyers want to work for him (at least the good ones). So he's going to end up with lawyers who are no match to those that Mueller has. (And BTW Stormy's lawyer is excellent-- perhaps a tad manipulative-- some commentators have compared his tactics to the ones Trump uses. But the guy is really sharp).