Rudy Giuliani joining Trump's Russia probe legal team

Former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, a one-time federal prosecutor, is joining U.S. President Donald Trump's personal legal team, Trump lawyer Jay Sekulow said in a statement on Thursday.

"Rudy is great. He has been my friend for a long time and wants to get this matter quickly resolved for the good of the country," Sekulow quoted Trump as saying.

Giuliani was one of three attorneys Sekulow said were being added to the legal team that is dealing with special counsel Robert Mueller's probe into Russia's meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

Russia has denied any meddling. Trump has said there was no collusion between his team and Moscow, and has called the Mueller probe a "witch hunt."

The Republican mayor of New York from 1994 to 2001, Giuliani was also the chief federal prosecutor in Manhattan for much of the 1980s. During that time, he brought many high-profile cases targeting insider trading on Wall Street.

Giuliani was also a top Department of Justice official in the Reagan administration.

Since exiting the mayor's office, Giuliani has been in private practice, most recently at the law firm of Greenberg Traurig. The firm said Giuliani is on a leave of absence, effective today.

Sekulow said the other two attorneys joining Trump's team are the Florida husband-and-wife white-collar defence lawyers Martin and Jane Raskin.