Corallo resigned within days of the response Trump sent the New York Times, and later, when interviewed by Mueller, reportedly told Mueller that on the flight, during the preparation of the Trump response, Hope Hicks said the emails between Don Jr., Manafort, Kushner and Rob Goldstone "would never get out." Corallo reportedly viewed Hope's statement as potentially obstructing justice. Hope Hicks' lawyer hotly denied Hope made such a statement.
Today's report in the Times linked above says Trump told two aides he had no "personal chemistry" with either DiGenova or Toensing.
The president met with Mr. diGenova and Ms. Toensing, who are married, in recent days to discuss the possibility that they would join his legal team in the Mueller case. According to two people told of details about the meeting, the president did not believe he had personal chemistry with Mr. diGenova and Ms. Toensing.
A little bit of history on Mark Corallo. He goes way back. He was spokesman for John Ashcroft, and later for Karl Rove's lawyer during the Valerie Plame/Scooter Libby investigation.
He always seemed like a straight-shooter to me. I talked to him a few times during the Rove investigation, and even more times to Jason Leopold, then writing for TruthOut, who reported Karl Rove had been indicted. Jason and Corallo were at odds over what Corallo had reportedly told Jason during a phone call. Having talked to both of them I got stuck in the middle.
When Fitzgerald ultimately sent a letter to Rove's lawyer, Robert Luskin of Patton Boggs, that there would no Indictment of Karl Rove, Corallo e-mailed a press release to everyone on his media list, and included this message to me:
Jeralyn - it's over. You might want to tell Marc Ash and Jason Leopold that they are free to leave the "lockdown" on the 4th floor of Patton Boggs anytime they wish. Frankly, we suspected they were just there for the free donuts all along...
I can easily see how Trump would not respond positively to the "outgoing" personalities and rigid point of views of DiGenova and Toensing. But how did diGenova and Toensing not see this coming? While I couldn't disagree more with their political views, I do believe they are ethical lawyers would not agree to represent someone if there was a conflict of interest. The New York Times report today says:
White House aides said Mr. Corallo’s assertion [about Hope Hicks] had come up in discussions with the president as he weighed whether to go ahead with Mr. diGenova and Ms. Toensing.
Perhaps they thought there was no conflict because they know Corallo said nothing incriminating to Mueller about Trump, and is unlikely to be a witness against him. Politico reported Corallo signed a waiver, authorizing them to represent Trump.
But what about what Corallo may have told Mueller about Hope Hicks, Jared Kushner, Ivanka and others close to him? I think Trump will fight like a dog to protect his children and surrogate children, and it may be as simple as Trump cannot not trust a lawyer who represented a potential witness against them.
Politico also reported Trump's present lawyers pleaded with him not to hire DiGenova and Toensing, in part because of their ages.
A senior administration official said Trump’s lawyers pleaded with the president against hiring diGenova and Toensing, citing conflicts of interest and their ages (he’s 73, she’s 76)....The senior administration official said the couple also looked disheveled when they came to meet with the president on Thursday, which helped convince Trump they weren’t the right fit for the team.