Top White House lawyer John Dowd quits after Trump repeatedly ignores his advice in Mueller probe: report

Top White House lawyer John Dowd has quit his position after reportedly being frustrated that President Donald Trump keeps spurning his advice for how to handle the probe of special counsel Robert Mueller.

The New York Times reports that Dowd tendered his resignation on Thursday, although one source tells the publication that he had considered resigning for months because he "ultimately concluded that Mr. Trump was increasingly ignoring his advice."

Although the Times makes no mention of what advice Trump is specifically ignoring, the report does say that Dowd has repeatedly tried to warn the president against doing a face-to-face interview with special counsel Robert Mueller -- whereas Trump himself has said that he believes he should do an interview with the special counsel.

"It is not clear who will take over the legal team," the Times further notes. "Trump’s other personal lawyer for the investigation, Jay Sekulow, is liked by the president and recently brought on one of his longtime friends, Joseph E. diGenova, to join the team."

What makes Dowd's departure particularly jarring is the fact that he told the Times on Monday that he was staying at his job.

"I’m sitting here working on the president’s case right now," he told the paper.

Trump in recent days has publicly attacked the Mueller probe on Twitter and has said he doesn't believe it should have ever been started.