In late May, the White House’s Russia scandal reached the point at which Donald Trump found it necessary to lawyer up, hiring his own outside counsel to represent the president’s personal interests. About three weeks later, Mike Pence, facing plenty of questions of his own, did the same thing.
The vice president told reporters last week, in response to questions about taking this step, “It’s very routine. Very routine.” That’s not even close to being true: vice presidents very rarely have to hire outside counsel in the midst of a federal investigation.
It’s even more unusual for attorneys general to hire their own lawyer, but the Washington Post reported that Jeff Sessions has done exactly that.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who has been under fire in recent months for his contacts with Russian officials during the 2016 presidential race, has retained the services of Washington lawyer Charles J. Cooper, a longtime friend. […]
Cooper, a partner with his own firm, Cooper & Kirk, would not say when he was retained by Sessions or whether he is representing Sessions in the special counsel’s investigation into Trump and Russia.
If Cooper’s name sounds familiar, there are two reasons why. First, Cooper, a leading figure in Republican legal circles for many years, was a top contender for solicitor general in the Trump administration before surprisingly withdrawing from consideration in February.









