(Tribune News Service) — A core member of the legal defense team representing former President Donald Trump against the Justice Department special counsel investigations has left.

Tim Parlatore said in a phone call Wednesday morning that he had decided to leave the team “for personal reasons” and that his departure didn’t reflect his “opinion of the client or his case.” His last day was Tuesday and he left on “very good terms” with Trump, he said.

“It was an honor to be a part of this team,” he said.

Parlatore had been among the five lawyers jointly representing Trump in connection with the two probes being run by Special Counsel Jack Smith exploring efforts by Trump and his allies to undermine the results of the 2020 presidential election and whether Trump or anyone else mishandled classified information after he left the White House.

A spokesperson for Trump did not immediately return a request for comment. Parlatore’s departure was first reported by CNN.

Although members of Trump’s Justice Department defense team worked jointly on the two probes, Parlatore had played a key role on matters related to the classified documents found at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home last summer during a court-authorized FBI search. He testified before a grand jury about the team’s efforts to arrange for additional searches for any other classified materials.

Last month, Parlatore, joined by other Trump attorneys, sent a 10-page letter to the House Intelligence Committee criticizing the Justice Department’s handling of the classified documents probe and urging Congress to transfer that investigative authority to intelligence agencies.

Smith’s team has yet to pursue charges and it’s not clear when either probe will end. A person familiar with the situation who wasn’t authorized to speak publicly said that several witnesses were scheduled to appear before the grand jury in the election probe into the early summer, an indication that prosecutors are still gathering evidence.

Parlatore said he didn’t know if Trump would seek to hire another lawyer to work on the Justice Department matters. He said he left on good terms with his colleagues; he declined to comment when asked about reports of tension among the lawyers advising Trump on a variety of matters.

There was a shakeup on Trump’s defense team earlier this year, when attorney Evan Corcoran recused from work related to the classified documents probe in light of his subpoenaed testimony before the grand jury. He had been one of the lawyers leading Trump’s initial response to efforts by the Justice Department and the National Archive to retrieve White House records after he left office.

“Tim has repeatedly demonstrated his excellence as a lawyer. He is a valued friend,” Corcoran wrote in a text when asked about Parlatore’s departure.

Parlatore said that he left the door open with Trump to returning in the future. For now, he said, he will continue to focus on his firm’s other clients and was exploring writing a book about his work representing retired Navy SEAL Edward Gallagher, who had been accused of war crimes and acquitted of the most serious charges.

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