Mark Corallo, the spokesman for President Trump’s independent legal team, resigned his position on Thursday, according to several reports.
Corallo’s resignation comes as Trump’s legal staff ramps up a campaign to discredit Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who has expanded the scope of his investigation of Trumpworld in recent weeks.
What began as an investigation into potential collusion between members of the Trump campaign and Russian government has broadened to include a look at Trump’s businesses and those of his family members and other associates, including former campaign chairman Paul Manafort.
According to reports from The New York Times and The Washington Post, Trump’s Russia-related legal staff, which is separate from White House counsel, has been looking for ways to discredit Mueller and his staff of lawyers and investigators. Many of the lawyers hired by Mueller have donated to Democratic politicians, including Hillary Clinton.
It is not entirely clear why Corallo resigned his post. He did not respond to a request for comment, but according to the Post, the seasoned Washington PR veteran was not on board with the plan to go after Mueller.
Corallo joined the legal team last month.
On Wednesday, Trump suggested that he is unhappy with Mueller’s widening investigation. In an interview with The Times he said that a probe that looks into his family’s finances is “a violation.”
“Look, this is about Russia,” he said.
Trump’s comments in that interview, which included criticism of Attorney General Jeff Sessions for recusing himself from the Russia probe, were seen by many as the Republican’s first move towards removing Mueller as special counsel.