Cobb steps up to the plate, joining Trump’s legal team

WASHINGTON President Trump has for months decried the multiple investigations into his campaign’s ties to Russia as the greatest “witch hunt” in American political history. But his quiet appointment of prominent Washington criminal attorney Ty Cobb as a White House special counsel shows just how seriously he’s taking them.

Trump’s outside legal team already is sprawling. His longtime lawyer Marc Kasowitz — a longtime Trump corporate lawyer known for his hard- charging style — is leading a team of four lawyers to shield him from potential peril of three congressional committees and a special Justice Department counsel looking into possible collusion between Trump associates and Russians who sought to influence the election in Trump’s favor by hacking Democrats.

Yet by tapping former federal prosecutor Cobb as White House point man on all matters related to Russia, Trump is signaling an internal legal bulwark was equally necessary to keep the administration from being consumed by the growing storm of questions about his campaign’s ties to Russian- linked operatives.

Those questions have only grown after revelations the president’s son, son- in- law, and former campaign chief took a highly controversial meeting in June 2016 in the hopes of obtaining damaging information about Hillary Clinton from the Russian government — and it’s increasingly clear the current White House staff lacked the bandwidth to defend a president facing a criminal investigation.

“He brings to the White House a lot of experience the president has not had,’’ said John Dowd, a prominent member of Trump’s outside legal team who recommended Cobb for the job.

Cobb, who has built a formidable reputation as a criminal lawyer and crisis manager, is meant to be a counterpoint to White House Counsel Donald McGahn, an expert in election law and former chairman of the Federal Elections Commission.

Cobb’s appointment to a post inside the White House equips Trump a criminal lawyer available to advise at any time.

A former federal prosecutor in Baltimore, Cobb headed the office’s criminal division and organized crime task force. In private practice, he represented a farflung roster of clients in bribery and corruption cases in 44 states and 35 countries, according to his firm Hogan Lovells.

As a special White House counsel, Cobb will serve as the primary White House contact with the congressional investigating committees ( the Senate and House Intelligence panels and the Senate Judiciary Committee), and special counsel Robert Mueller, the former FBI director who is conducting the Justice Department’s wide- ranging criminal inquiry into possible coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia.

Cobb’s appointment also is expected to help relieve mounting pressure on chief White House counsel McGahn, who has been helping to direct both the White House response on Russia matters in addition to providing legal guidance on myriad policy issues confronting the administration.

“Within the counsel’s office, there are various attorneys that have different portfolios,” White House spokesman Sean Spicer said.

Cobb’s hiring is part of a White House effort to recruit an informal team to help the administration cope with all the ramifications of the Russia investigation. The team includes surrogates who can go on television to, now, a member of White House Counsel staff — Cobb. He will deal with any legal issues that might affect the institution of the presidency, including congressional document requests. Cobb also will advise White House spokespersons on what they can or cannot say about the Russia investigation.

While the addition of Cobb represents a significant shift in White House strategy related to Russia, such appointments are not unprecedented.

President Clinton, facing an independent counsel’s inquiry into his relationship with a White House intern that ultimately led to impeachment proceedings, recruited communications experts and seasoned criminal lawyers to assist his defense.

Lanny Davis, among those who served as a special White House counsel during the Clinton administration, said lawyers recruited for such jobs need to come with an understanding of the complex intersection of the law, media and politics. “Working in a White House under attack is like working in the midst of a political campaign,” he said.

Even with Cobb’s broad experience and formidable reputation, Davis said he will need something more than his own acumen: the support of the president.

Cobb’s friends and former associates said the colorful lawyer is up for the challenges of the task.

“He is not a fixer, he is not a political operative,” said Robert Weber, a longtime friend. “He is a pure lawyer. He understands the client. He knows there are no shortcuts, and that success depends on on hard work. He’s fearless.”

” The first rule is to get the bad news out. ... Building a support group for what ( Cobb) will have to do is not going to be easy.” Lanny Davis

HOGAN LOVELLS Ty Cobb, a partner in the investigations practice of the law firm Hogan Lovells, was appointed as White House special counsel by President Trump on Saturday.