Often working behind the scenes as more flamboyant legal personalities around the president took to the airwaves, Mr. Flood was one of the first people to view the final Mueller report, which he quickly assailed in a letter to William P. Barr, the attorney general.
In the letter, Mr. Flood said the special counsel’s decision not to exonerate Mr. Trump of obstruction of justice could “be understood only as political statements” from federal prosecutors who were “rightly expected never to be political in the performance of their duties.”
.. Mr. Flood’s approach to the legal fight seemed to quickly earn the president’s trust. He initially replaced Ty Cobb, who oversaw interactions between the Trump administration and the special counsel’s office. Mr. Cobb eventually ran afoul of others on Mr. Trump’s legal team, which accused him of being too cooperative with investigators as he tried to bring the investigation to a swift close.