Trump set to bring in new attorney to manage response to Russia investigation

President Donald Trump has chosen a new lawyer to join the White House and take the lead on issues related to ongoing investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 election, according to two people familiar with the decision.

Ty Cobb, a former prosecutor and defense lawyer at Hogan Lovells, will seek to play the role of crisis manager and disciplinarian in a White House that has struggled to deal with continuing questions about the federal and congressional probes that have dominated the early months of Trump’s presidency.

Ever since the Justice Department appointed a special counsel for the Russia investigation in May, the administration has endured week after week of revelations about meetings that top officials did not disclose and previous statements that proved partial or misleading. Trump has complained that special counsel Robert Mueller III’s investigation is a “witch hunt” that is unfairly stalling his agenda.

The president has been searching in recent weeks for a lawyer who could work inside the White House on the matter in an attempt to instill some sense of order to what can be a chaotic environment. He had considered Emmet Flood, William Burck and several others for the position. The need for someone to fill this role became more urgent when the New York Times broke the news Saturday that Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort together held a meeting in June 2016 with a Russian lawyer on the belief that she had some damaging information about Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

On Friday, a White House spokesperson said it was not ready to issue a statement on the president’s choice of a new lawyer and Cobb’s office said he was traveling and was not immediately available for comment.

The president was reported to have met with Cobb on July 3.

Trump will continue to be personally represented by his longtime New York-based lawyer Marc Kasowitz.