Attorney Theodore Olson will not join President Trump’s legal team, one of his legal partners said Tuesday afternoon.
Ted Boutrous, who works with Olson at the Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher law firm, responded quickly to a Washington Post report earlier Tuesday that said Trump had extended an offer to the veteran attorney.
Olson served as the U.S. solicitor general under President George W. Bush and is considered a star attorney in Washington. He had previously turned down an offer to join the Trump administration.
The reported offer to Olson came as the Trump legal team takes a more aggressive approach toward special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
Trump attacked Mueller in a series of weekend tweets that raised speculation that the president is considering firing the special counsel. He has frequently described the investigation as a “witch hunt.”
The White House denies that there are any discussions about firing Mueller.
On Monday, Trump added attorney Joseph diGenova to his personal legal team, which also includes Jay Sekulow, John Dowd and the president’s self-described fixer, Michael Cohen.
DiGenova is a former U.S. attorney who has fiercely attacked the FBI and Department of Justice in conservative media appearances.