UPDATE: Rudy Giuliani Joins Trump’s Legal Team

Betsy Woodruff reports at the Daily Beast:

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani has been in talks to join the President Donald Trump’s personal legal team, according to a person familiar with the matter. No decision is currently final.

A slew of foreign policy matters which Trump has had to deal with has slowed the process of expanding the president’s legal team, according the person familiar with the matter. Trump’s time has been absorbed by North Korea and Syria, which has limited his availability to speak with potential new members of his legal team.

Giuliani did not immediately return a request for comment. But he is a close ally of the president, having campaigned closely with him during the 2016 election. Giuliani gave an impassioned speech in favor of Trump at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland.

UPDATE: It’s a done deal.

Former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, a combative former prosecutor and longtime ally of President Trump, told The Washington Post on Thursday that he has joined the president’s legal team dealing with the ongoing special counsel probe.

“I’m doing it because I hope we can negotiate an end to this for the good of the country and because I have high regard for the president and for Bob Mueller,” Giuliani said in an interview. Giuliani said he formalized his decision in recent days, including over dinner last week at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

Giuliani and Trump spoke on Thursday about legal strategy moving forward, along with Sekulow, who Giuliani described as a “good friend.” He added that he and Cobb spoke on Wednesday.