There goes Cobb

President Trump has hired Emmet T. Flood, the veteran Washington lawyer who represented Bill Clinton during his impeachment, to replace Ty Cobb, the White House lawyer who has taken the lead in dealing with the special counsel investigation and has decided to retire, according to two people briefed on the matter.

  NYT

So beaten down, he's not just being replaced, he's retiring altogether.

In a phone interview, Mr. Cobb, who is 67, said he informed the president weeks ago that he wanted to retire.

Who can blame the poor man? This has been hard on him, and when it's over, it will have tarnished the reputation of every attorney connected with Trump.

[Cobb] said publicly that the White House had no interest in firing Mr. Mueller, and told friends privately that he would not remain in the administration if Mr. Trump moved to fire the special counsel.

Can we interpret that as a hint that Cobb thinks that's likely?

Mr. Flood is expected to take a more adversarial approach to the investigation than Mr. Cobb, who had pushed Mr. Trump to strike a cooperative tone.

I'm sure that will work wonders.

Mr. Flood’s hiring has not been made final, the people cautioned, noting Mr. Trump’s practice of reneging on personnel decisions after they are reported in the press.

Ha ha. Oh, yeah. We can't get too far ahead of ourselves.  He really doesn't like it if we already know something.  He wants to create surprises.

Mr. Flood was part of a team of lawyers who represented Mr. Clinton during his impeachment proceedings. Though he did not have a high-profile role, Mr. Flood did attend the Senate’s deposition of Mr. Clinton’s lawyer and confidant, Vernon E. Jordan Jr.

Hmmmmm. I wonder if that impeachment experience is what attracted Trump.  (Earlier reports said that representation of Clinton was actually off-putting for Trump, but I bet that was just smoke.)

Mr. Flood was also the lead lawyer in the White House Counsel’s Office during George W. Bush’s second term in dealing with congressional investigations, including the examination of the Bush administration’s decision to dismiss seven United States attorneys.

Oh, that's definitely a factor.

In private practice, Mr. Flood represented former Vice President Dick Cheney.

So, at least we know he has no morals.

Mr. Flood is himself seen as a prospective replacement for [White House counsel], potentially providing a smooth exit ramp for [Don] McGahn, who has clashed privately with Mr. Trump and whose departure has long been rumored.

Mr. McGahn spearheaded the effort to bring in Mr. Flood. Mr. McGahn and his personal lawyer, Bill Burck, who is close with Mr. Flood, convinced him over the past several weeks to join the administration.

McGahn trying to get out, too. So you can't say Mr. Flood doesn't have hints at what he'll be facing.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE: