Which outside lawyers will represent Trump in Russian influence probe? Pick is reportedly made
Photo of Marc Kasowitz courtesy of Kasowitz Benson Torres & Friedman.
Updated: President Donald Trump was personally involved in the search for outside lawyers to represent him in the special counsel’s investigation of his campaign and Russian influence in the election, according to the Washington Post.
The Post reported that four lawyers were reportedly top contenders for the job, including Marc Kasowitz, the founder of Kasowitz Benson Torres & Friedman. Now reports are identifying the commercial litigator as Trump’s pick to lead his legal team, the National Law Journal reports.
Kasowitz has represented Trump in defamation suits, including a suit filed over a claim that Trump was worth less than $1 billion. He was also in the news when he wrote a letter demanding the New York Times retract an article about alleged groping incidents.
“Far from an established, Washington, D.C., white-collar figure,” the National Law Journal reports, “Kasowitz is best known for handling a mix of complex, high-stakes civil disputes in New York’s state courts, particularly involving financial institutions.”
Another lawyer from Kasowitz’s firm, former Sen. Joseph Lieberman, was reportedly a front-runner to replace fired FBI Director James Comey.
The Washington Post had identified three other lawyers who were reportedly top contenders to represent Trump, and it’s unclear if they will be on the legal team, according to the National Law Journal. Those lawyers are
• Robert Giuffra Jr., a partner in Sullivan & Cromwell’s litigation group who handles white-collar defense and securities cases. He is coordinating counsel for Volkswagen in the emissions scandal litigation.
• Reid Weingarten, a white-collar defense partner at Steptoe & Johnson who has represented Democratic clients, including former Illinois Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr., and is friends with Eric Holder, the former attorney general.
• Theodore Olson, a Gibson Dunn partner who served as President George W. Bush’s solicitor general from 2001 to 2004. He successfully argued Bush v. Gore and joined forces with his opponent in that case, David Boies, to overturn California’s gay-marriage ban.
The Post spoke with some outside experts who cautioned that a team of lawyers could produce competing power factions that vie for the president’s attention. Said one lawyer from a previous administration, “To create a Tower of Babel within his legal team is sort of mirroring some of the problems that got him in trouble in the first place. What you don’t need is some complicated team approach in which various people are competing for his ear.”
