DiGenova will not join Trump’s legal team

President Trump will not be hiring Washington lawyer Joseph diGenova due to “conflicts,” The Associated Press reported.

Trump’s personal attorney Jay Sekulow announced on Sunday that the president won’t hire diGenova or his wife, Victoria Toensing, for the legal team assembled to defend him in the special counsel investigation.

“The president is disappointed that conflicts prevent Joe diGenova and Victoria Toensing from joining the president’s special counsel legal team,” Sekulow said in a statement on Sunday obtained by The New York Times. “However, those conflicts do not prevent them from assisting the president in other legal matters. The president looks forward to working with them.”

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DiGenova’s hiring was announced on Monday but later reports noted that conflicts of interest could prevent him from working for Trump.

His hiring came the same week as the resignation of John Dowd, who led the president’s team countering special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russia’s election meddling.

DiGenova had been considered a front-runner to replace Dowd.

Trump, who had largely stayed quiet about Mueller, has begun in recent days to criticize him by name, prompting many to worry that he could fire the special counsel.

The White House has said it has no plans to do so and that it is cooperating with the investigation.