Trump Disputes Times Report on His Legal Team

President Donald Trump on Sunday disputed a New York Times report describing discussions it said he had with a veteran lawyer about joining the White House to help handle matters related to the special counsel inquiry.

In a pair of tweets, Trump wrote that The Times “purposely wrote a false story stating that I am unhappy with my legal team on the Russia case and am going to add another lawyer to help out.”

The Times, in a statement issued by its communications department, said, “We stand by our reporting, which was confirmed by multiple people close to the president.”

The newspaper reported that the lawyer, Emmet T. Flood, who represented President Bill Clinton during his impeachment process, had met with Trump in the Oval Office last week. It said Trump had not made a final decision on whether to bring on Flood, who would help the White House manage its contacts with the Justice Department.

The Times said there had been signs in recent months that Trump might be looking to shake up his legal team as the special counsel inquiry stretches beyond the timeline given to him by Ty Cobb, the lawyer leading the Trump team’s response to the investigation.