Before Mr. Gowdy could be added, however, Mr. Trump needed to meet with him. It went pleasantly enough, people briefed on what took place said, despite Mr. Trump’s skepticism of Mr. Gowdy, who has often tried to distance himself from the president. But by late in the day, Mr. Trump signed off on hiring Mr. Gowdy. On Wednesday, Mr. Trump’s personal lawyers worked on a letter for Mr. Gowdy to sign to cement their agreement. But within 30 minutes of that statement’s going public, Mr. Gowdy alerted Mr. Trump’s lawyers to a problem.

Source: New York Times October 14, 2019 00:00 UTC