Four major law firms declined White House requests to represent President Trump in the Russian investigations, according to a Yahoo news report.
A chief concern among the firms was whether Trump would be willing to listen to counsel as well as his ability to limit public commentary about the investigation. One of the lawyers was reportedly worried that representing Trump would “kill recruitment.”
The top lawyers who reportedly declined to represent Trump were Brendan Sullivan of Williams & Connolly; Ted Olson of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher; Paul Clement and Mark Filip of Kirkland & Ellis; and Robert Giuffra of Sullivan & Cromwell.
Olson and Clement both served as solicitor general under former President George W. Bush.
On May 8, Trump released a series of tweets about the investigation, calling any collusion between Russia and Trump “a total hoax,” and he publicly revealed in a May 11 interview that he had asked fired FBI Director James Comey if he was being investigated as part of the Russian probe.
The Russia-Trump collusion story is a total hoax, when will this taxpayer funded charade end?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 8, 2017
New York attorney Marc Kasowitz, who has represented Trump in prior business cases, is representing Trump in the Russian investigation.
The Russia investigation reached the White House after revelations of meeting between Jared Kushner, Trump’s senior adviser and son-in-law, and a Russian banker and reports that Kushner sought to create a back channel with Moscow.
Both Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have denied any improper conduct during the campaign.
