Lawyers representing Rick Gates withdraw from Russia case

On Thursday, three attorneys representing Rick Gates, one of President Trump's campaign aides, announced they are immediately withdrawing as his counsel.

In a two-page motion, lawyers Shanlon Wu, Walter Mack, and Annemarie McAvoy said they will reveal in documents filed under seal with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia why they are no longer representing Gates. "The document speaks for itself," McAvoy told Politico. Along with former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, Gates has been indicted by Special Counsel Robert Mueller on money laundering and other charges, and pleaded not guilty in October. It's likely his criminal trial won't start until September at the earliest.

In January, CNN reported that Gates hired a new attorney, Tom Green, who had been seen at Mueller's office on two occasions. A defense attorney familiar with the special counsel's probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election told Politico the number of lawyers Gates has "cycled through in such a short period of time is highly unusual."

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