President Donald Trump's lead lawyer in the special counsel's Russia investigation resigned Thursday, shaking up the legal team just as the president intensifies his attacks on a probe he calls nothing more than a witch hunt.

Associated Press Justice Department reporter Eric Tucker said the resignation might have something to do with clashes between John Dowd and Trump in the Mueller investigation.

"Trump came out and said I'm very eager to speak under oath to Mueller, but Dowd has been much more cautious and apprehensive," Tucker said, "So obviously you have a client attorney division there."

The departure of attorney John Dowd removes the primary negotiator and legal strategist who had been molding Trump's defense. It also comes just days after the Trump legal team added a new lawyer, former U.S. attorney Joseph diGenova, who has alleged on television that FBI officials were involved in a "brazen plot" to exonerate Hillary Clinton in the email investigation and to "frame" Trump for nonexistent crimes.

Dowd confirmed his decision in an email to The Associated Press, saying, "I love the President and wish him well." Dowd said he made the decision voluntarily and he denied reports that his departure had to do with Trump ignoring his legal advice. He said he formally resigned Thursday morning.

It already was a delicate time in special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation as Trump's attorneys, including Dowd, have been negotiating with Mueller over the scope and terms of an interview of the president. Trump has told reporters that he was eager to speak with Mueller, but Dowd has been far more apprehensive, and the lawyers have not publicly committed to making Trump available for questioning.

Asked Thursday whether he still wants to speak with Mueller's team, Trump told reporters, "Yes, I would like to."

Dowd's exit nearly a year into Mueller's investigation threatens to undo the cooperation between prosecutors and Trump's lawyers and may herald a stark shift in strategy as the probe reaches closer into the White House and the president's inner circle.

Over the weekend, Dowd issued a statement calling for an end to special counsel's investigation. The White House and later Dowd had to clarify the statement, saying the president's legal team wasn't calling for Mueller to be fired.

But Trump has upped his public attacks on Mueller.

In a series of tweets since last week, the president has said that the probe never should have started, that it was based on "fraudulent activities," that it was a "WITCH HUNT" and that it is being led by "13 hardened Democrats, some big Crooked Hillary supporters."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

New York - 10 May 2011

1. STILL Attorney John Dowd leaves building with his client co-founder of Galleon hedge fund group Raj Rajaratnam

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New York - 29 April 2011

2. STILL Dowd and Rajaratnam entering federal court

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Washington, D.C. - 22 March 2018

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Tucker, Associated Press Justice Department Reporter:

"So John Dowd is the lead defense lawyer on Donald Trump's legal team. And we learned today that he has resigned effective immediately from that team, so he's no longer going to be representing the president."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, D.C. - 23 May 2007

4. STILL Various Dowd with client White House liaison Monica Goodling

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Washington, D.C. - 22 March 2018

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Tucker, Associated Press Justice Department Reporter:

"So this is really significant because we are now 10 months into Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. There have been a lot of negotiations back and forth led by John Dowd as to whether or not the president will sit down for interview with Mueller and his team. And so now it's unclear what the next step is going to be, because basically the point person and lead negotiator and point of contact for Mueller's team is no longer calling the shots."

DONALD TRUMP TWITTER FEED/@realDonaldTrump

Internet - 18 March 2018

6. SCREENGRAB of Donald Trump homepage on Twitter

7. SCREENGRAB of tweet reading (English): "Why does the Mueller team have 13 hardened Democrats, some big Crooked Hillary supporters, and Zero Republicans? Another Dem recently added...does anyone think this is fair? And yet, there is NO COLLUSION!"

DONALD TRUMP TWITTER FEED/@realDonaldTrump

Internet - 17 March 2018

8. SCREENGRAB of tweet reading (English): "The Mueller probe should never have been started in that there was no collusion and there was no crime. It was based on fraudulent activities and a Fake Dossier paid for by Crooked Hillary and the DNC, and improperly used in FISA COURT for surveillance of my campaign. WITCH HUNT!"

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, D.C. - 22 March 2018

9. SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Tucker, Associated Press Justice Department Reporter:

"Last weekend we noticed a real notable shift in the way the president and his legal team has been talking about Special Counsel Robert Mueller. So in the past there's been lots of public overtures and gestures of cooperation. They've spoken warmly about the special counsel in his work. And this time, for the first time, this weekend for the first time we saw John Dowd basically call on Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to shut down the investigation. He had initially said he was speaking for the president, he later said he was not. And the White House on Sunday had to clarify that there were no plans to try to terminate the investigation."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, D.C. - 22 March 2018

10. Donald Trump walks into White House Treaty Room

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Washington, D.C. - 22 March 2018

11. SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Tucker, Associated Press Justice Department Reporter:

"So I think there's been a degree of consternation back and forth within the legal community over certain decisions and actions from Dowd and the legal team. There's been obviously a divide as to whether or not the president is gonna speak with Mueller. So you'll remember that in January, Trump came out and said I'm very eager to speak under oath to Mueller, but Dowd has been much more cautious and apprehensive, and his lawyers, Trump's lawyers have not publicly committed in any way to any sort of interview. They say those are ongoing negotiations. So obviously you have a client attorney division there."

ASSOCIATED PRESS - AP CLIENTS ONLY

Washington, D.C. - 22 March 2018

12. President Donald Trump walks out of Treaty Room as reporters shout questions

13. UPSOUND: Reporter:

"Mr. President, would you still like to testify to special counsel Robert Mueller, sir?"

14. SOUNDBITE (English) Donald Trump, U.S. President:

"Yes, I would like to..."

15. Trump walks out of room

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Washington, D.C. - 22 March 2018

16. SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Tucker, Associated Press Justice Department Reporter:

"One other thing that I would note is that the Trump legal team has been looking to try to add to its ranks. So they have reached out to a very prominent Washington lawyer, a litigator by the name of Ted Olson who argued the Bush v. Gore case 2000 before the U.S. Supreme Court. And he's argued the California gay rights case, same sex marriage case. He turned them down. And so I would not be surprised if there is another attorney who they try to reach out to."

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Washington, D.C. - 28 September 2017

17. STILL Various Former United States Solicitor General Ted Olson at the installation ceremony for FBI director Chris Wray

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Washington, D.C. - 20 June 2013

18. STILL Olson with plaintiffs in the California Proposition 8 case

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Washington, D.C. - 22 March 2018

19. SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Tucker, Associated Press Justice Department Reporter:

"They did hire on Monday a former United States attorney named Joe diGenova who's going to be working on the Trump legal team. And one thing that diGenova is notable for is an interview with Fox News from January in which he basically said the FBI officials were part of a brazen plot to exonerate Hillary Clinton and frame Donald Trump for a fictional, nonexistent crime. So that gives you a flavor of where the defense legal strategy might be going."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, D.C. - 22 March 2018

20. Various Trump speaking in the House Treaty Room about imposing tariffs on Chinese imports

Pushing back on Russia harder than before, the Trump administration accused Moscow on Thursday of a concerted hacking operation targeting the U.S. energy grid, aviation systems and other infrastructure, and also imposed sanctions on Russians for alleged interference in the 2016 election.

The dual moves formed the strongest action to date against Russia by the Trump administration, long accused of being too soft on the Kremlin, and the first punishments for election-meddling since President Donald Trump took office. The sanctions list included the 13 Russians indicted last month by special counsel Robert Mueller, whose Russia investigation the president has repeatedly sought to discredit.

AP reporter Josh Lederman says the moves suggest, "the administration is giving some credence to the legal conclusion that Mueller's team is drawing. That could in turn make it harder in the future for the Trump administration to say that what Robert Mueller's team is doing is illegitimate or shouldn't be believed by the American people."

U.S. national security officials said the FBI, Department of Homeland Security and intelligence agencies had determined that Russian intelligence and others were behind a broad range of cyberattacks beginning a year ago that have infiltrated the energy, nuclear, commercial, water, aviation and manufacturing sectors.

The accusations and accompanying Russian sanctions were the most severe yet by the Trump administration in connection with hacking and other efforts to sow discord in America's democracy and compromise its infrastructure.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington DC - 15 March 2018

1. Wide, President Donald Trump, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar and Congressional leaders meeting on Capitol steps and walking into building

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Washington DC - 15 March 2018

2. President Trump speaking at a luncheon with the Irish Prime Minister

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Washington, DC - 15 March 2018

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Josh Lederman, Associated Press reporter:

"The Trump administration is accusing Russia of breaching the U.S. energy grid along with other critical infrastructure including nuclear, aviation and water systems. The U.S. is also slapping sanctions on 19 people, including the 13 Russians who were indicted last month by special counselor Robert Mueller for election interference."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - 16 February 2018

4. Mid, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein walks up to podium

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Rod Rosenstein, Deputy Attorney General:

"A grand jury in the District of Columbia today returned an indictment presented by the special counsel's office. The indictment charges 13 Russian nationals and three Russian companies for committing federal crimes while seeking to interfere in the United States political system including the 2016 presidential election."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - 15 March 2018

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Josh Lederman, Associated Press reporter:

"It's very notable that the Trump administration is specifically sanctioning people who were indicted by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. That suggests the administration is giving some credence to the legal conclusion that Mueller's team is drawing. That could in turn make it harder in the future for the Trump administration to say that what Robert Mueller's team is doing is illegitimate or shouldn't be believed by the American people."

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Washington, DC - 13 June 2013

7. Various, then-FBI Director Robert Mueller being sworn in

8. STILL Image Mueller in committee hearing

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Washington, DC - 15 March 2018

9. SOUNDBITE (English) Josh Lederman, Associated Press reporter:

"Some of these sanctions are using a new law that Congress passed last year authorizing the administration to punish Russians who are involved in interfering in the 2016 election. They come from the Treasury Department and mean that any assets of sanctioned individuals in the United States will be frozen. They also will be prohibited from entering the United States."

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New York - 6 December 2016

10. US President-elect Donald Trump walks out of elevator at Trump Tower

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - 15 March 2018

11. SOUNDBITE (English) Josh Lederman, Associated Press reporter:

"The timing of these new sanctions are very significant. Not only are the U.S. and others pointing the finger at Russia for poisoning an ex spy, but it comes just days ahead of a presidential election this weekend in Russia."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - 15 March 2018

12. Mid, President Donald Trump greets Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar at White House

13. SOUNDBITE: (English) Donald Trump, U.S. President

(Reporter) "What are you going to do? Do you think Putin is behind it?

(Trump) It looks like it. I spoke to the prime minister. We are in deep discussions, a very sad situation. It certainly looks like the Russians were behind it"

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - 15 March 2018

14. SOUNDBITE (English) Josh Lederman, Associated Press reporter:

"National security officials are laying out what they describe as a multifaceted and ongoing campaign by Russian hackers that involved moving between system to system, creating fake administrator accounts that were disguised to look legitimate and even deleting activity logs to try to cover their tracks."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, DC - 15 March 2018

15. Mid, President Trump sits with Irish Prime Minister Varadkar