Donald Trump hires lawyer who accused FBI and Justice department of 'plot' to frame president - Independent

20/3/2018
Donald Trump hires lawyer who accused FBI and Justice department of 'plot' to frame president
I 'have full confidence that he will be a great asset in our representation of the President', says other Trump attorney Jay Sekulow

Alexandra Wilts Washington DC

Joseph E diGenova during a television interview in March 2016 C-Span
Donald Trump has hired a lawyer who accuses the FBI and Justice Department of trying to frame the president with false charges of colluding with the Russian government.

Joseph diGenova, a Washington lawyer and former US attorney for the District of Columbia, will join the legal team later this week, according to attorney Jay Sekulow, one of the president’s other personal lawyers.

“I have worked with Joe for many years and have full confidence that he will be a great asset in our representation of the President,” Mr Sekulow told the New York Times.

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Mr diGenova has pushed the theory that the Russia investigation is all just a “brazen plot” to frame Mr Trump.

“There was a brazen plot to illegally exonerate Hillary Clinton and, if she didn’t win the election, to then frame Donald Trump with a falsely created crime,” he said on Fox News in January. “Make no mistake about it: A group of FBI and DOJ people were trying to frame Donald Trump of a falsely created crime.”

Little evidence has emerged to support Mr diGenova’s theory.

The addition of Mr diGenova to Mr Trump’s legal team is another possible indicator that the President is working to discredit Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Russia’s meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

Mr Mueller is attempting to figure out if Mr Trump’s campaign advisers coordinated with the Kremlin.

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Over the weekend, Mr Trump criticised the Russia investigation on Twitter, saying that it should not have been started because there was no collusion between his campaign and Russia.

“It was based on fraudulent activities and a Fake Dossier paid for by Crooked Hillary and the [Democratic National Committee], and improperly used in [Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act] COURT for surveillance of my campaign. WITCH HUNT!” Mr Trump tweeted, questioning the legitimacy of the investigation.