Emmet Flood. Photo: Diego M. Radzinschi/ALM.

Williams & Connolly said Wednesday that partner Emmet Flood is leaving the firm to join President Donald Trump's legal team.

“Emmet is a special lawyer and long-time member of the Williams & Connolly family. We are disappointed to lose him to the White House, but we fully appreciate Emmet's strong commitment to public service,” firm chairman Dane Butswinkas said in a statement. “We wish Emmet every success in his new position.”

The White House confirmed Flood's hire, and also confirmed that Ty Cobb would be be departing the president's legal lineup. The statements came shortly after The New York Times reported that Cobb was leaving and that Flood was expected to replace him.

“Emmet Flood will be joining the White House staff to represent the president and the administration against the Russia witch hunt. Ty Cobb, a friend of the president, who has done a terrific job, will be retiring at the end of the month,” White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement.

Ty Cobb

Cobb had occupied the lead role on the Trump team in responding to special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe, and called his job an “impossible task with a deadline” when leaving behind a Big Law paycheck at Hogan Lovells to take the job in July 2017. Cobb told The National Law Journal in 2017 he could not say no when asked by the president to work on his behalf, and joined Trump's team with “rocks in my head and steel balls.

A Hogan Lovells representative had no immediate comment on whether Cobb could rejoin the firm.

'Honor and a Challenge'

Flood's pedigree as a longtime Washington lawyer with unparalleled experience counseling presidents under fire is unmatched by any who've served or currently serve on the Trump team.

Flood represented former President Bill Clinton in impeachment proceedings brought by the House, represented former Vice President Dick Cheney in a suit brought by former CIA employee Valerie Plame, and worked for two years in President George W. Bush's White House Counsel's office.

A lawyer with close ties to members of the administration, who asked not to be named, said there was strong backing from within the White House counsel's office for Flood's hire. “This was a move strongly supported and promoted by Don McGahn and his personal lawyer, both of whom know Emmet very well and believe he's the best man for the job,” the lawyer said.

Glen Donath, a partner in Clifford Chance's white-collar and regulatory practice who formerly practiced at Williams & Connolly, worked with Flood in representing Clinton during the impeachment proceedings.

“He represented President Clinton zealously and passionately, just as I'm sure he will represent the Office of the Presidency” during the Mueller investigation, Donath said.

Donath said Flood, who clerked for Justice Scalia, is “right of center” and has a conservative bent, but he said he doesn't believe that motivated Flood to take on his new role or is a sign of a particular allegiance to Trump.

“He's a lawyer first and foremost, and he represents clients however they come to him,” Donath said. “He believes as I certainly do that a lawyer's job is to defend his client, not to advocate a political philosophy.”

“I think he took it because for a lawyer of his intellect and creativity and experience, it's a tremendous challenge. It's an honor and a challenge,” Donath said. “He knows more about executive privilege and separation of powers, the constitutional issues that are at play here, as well as impeachment proceedings, if things ever got that point,” than any other lawyer in the country, Donath said.

As far as Williams & Connolly, where other partners have extensive record representing top government officials, Donath said the firm was likely proud of Flood having this opportunity.

“It's not surprising to me that Emmet was asked to do this,” Donath said. “I think any president would be lucky to have Emmet on their team.

Asked about Flood's departure, Williams & Connolly senior partner Brendan Sullivan Jr. praised his work and his tenure at the firm. “Emmet is a superb lawyer, and it has been my pleasure to be his partner for more than two decades,” Sullivan said in an email. “He is devoted to the law and to his clients.”

Wednesday's shakeup is the latest in a series of moves by Trump and his lawyers to reorder his legal representation.

Marc Kasowitz took a back seat on Trump's team in July 2017 after sending profanity-laden emails to someone urging him to resign.

John Dowd, who joined Trump's team in June 2017, took on the lead role until he quit in March.

The president's counsel lineup saw another change last month, when Rudy Giuliani said he would be joining the team, taking a leave of absence from Greenberg Traurig.

How the changes may affect Trump's strategy remains to be seen, but Cobb told ABC News Wednesday that Trump sitting for an interview with Mueller was “certainly not off the table.”

Christine Simmons and Miriam Rozen contributed to this report. 

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