Two lawyers not joining Trump's legal team after all

President Donald Trump will not be adding two new lawyers to the legal team defending him in the special counsel's Russia investigation after all, one of the president's attorneys said yesterday.

Trump attorney Jay Sekulow said in a statement that Washington lawyers Joseph diGenova and Victoria Toensing have conflicts that won't allow them to represent the president regarding Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. Sekulow had announced diGenova's appointment last week.

Sunday's announcement came just hours after Trump used Twitter to push back against reports that he's having difficulty adding to his legal team, saying he was "very happy" with his current attorneys.

"Many lawyers and top law firms want to represent me in the Russia case," he wrote, adding: "Fame & fortune will NEVER be turned down by a lawyer, though some are conflicted."

Neither the president nor Sekulow specified the conflict regarding diGenova and Toensing, who are married to each other and law partners, but their firm has represented other clients in the special counsel's investigation, including former Trump campaign adviser Sam Clovis.

Sekulow said Trump was "disappointed" that diGenova and Toensing won't be defending him in the special counsel investigation, but "those conflicts do not prevent them from assisting the president in other legal matters.

"The president looks forward to working with them," he added.

On Sunday, diGenova and Toensing released a joint statement, saying, "We thank the president for his confidence in us, and we look forward to working with him on other matters."

AP