Trump hires lawyer who represented Clinton

President Donald Trump on Wednesday hired a veteran attorney who represented Bill Clinton during his impeachment process as the White House shifted to a more aggressive approach to the Russia investigation, which has reached a critical stage.

The White House announced the hiring of lawyer Emmet Flood after disclosing the retirement of Ty Cobb, who for months has been the administration’s point person dealing with special counsel Robert Mueller.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that Cobb had been discussing the decision for weeks and would retire at the end of May and that Flood would be joining the White House staff to “represent the president and the administration against the Russia witch hunt.”

The replacement of Cobb with Flood may herald a more adversarial stance toward the Mueller team as Trump’s lawyers debate whether to make the president available for an interview with the special counsel and brace for the prospect of a grand jury subpoena if they refuse.

Although Cobb did not personally represent the president, he functioned as a critical point person for Mueller’s document and interview requests, coordinated dealings with prosecutors and worked closely with Trump’s personal lawyers. He had repeatedly urged cooperation with the investigation in hopes of bringing it to a quick end, and he viewed his role as largely finished now that interviews with dozens of current and former White House officials have been completed.