Three lawyers for Paul Manafort's deputy Rick Gates just quit his case abruptly

Three lawyers representing former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort's deputy Rick Gates quit defending the latter on Thursday.

As Politico reported, lawyers Shanlon Wu, Walter Mack and Annemarie McAvoy withdrew their defense of Gates "effective immediately."

In their filing, the lawyers requested that the reasoning for their withdrawal be kept under court seal.

Tom Green, a white collar defense lawyer Gates retained this month, met with special counsel Robert Mueller at least twice in recent weeks. The move signals potential cooperation with the special counsel's investigation into Gates' and Manafort's alleged money laundering as part of the larger probe into Russia.

A longtime associate of Manafort's, Gates allegedly worked alongside the former Trump campaign chairman for a Russian oligarch, and visited the White House as recently as March 2017.