The White House announced on Saturday that Ty Cobb will join the administration as special counsel, with sources telling Reuters and Bloomberg that he will be handling inquiries related to Russia investigations.
The White House did not provide information about Cobb’s role, but Bloomberg reported that he will be the central in-house figure for matters related to Russian interference in the U.S. election as well as claims of alleged collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign. Cobb will be working closely with Marc Kasowitz and John Dowd, heads of Trump’s outside legal team.
Cobb is a partner at Washington-based Hogan Lovells law firm. His last day at the firm will be July 30, according to an email that the firm’s CEO sent on Friday, Law.com reported.
Cobb is considered a preeminent expert on Securities and Exchange Commission litigation as well as congressional investigations, according to his profile on the Hogan Lovells website. His prior clients include IBM, AIG, Dell, Office Depot, Hudson Foods, members of the Saudi Royal family, as well as the largest privately held oil company in Argentina and its principals.
Cobb’s colleagues at Hogan Lovells are involved in the legal challenge from Hawaii against President Donald Trump’s travel ban. The firm publishes updates on the case on its website. One person associated with Hogan Lovells told Law.com that this creates a conflict until Cobb’s official resignation on July 30. The judge in the case, Derrick Watson, ordered on Wednesday that the group of people exempt from the ban be expanded to include grandparents, grandchildren, aunts, uncles and cousins of those residing legally in the United States.
A federal special counsel and several congressional panels are investigating allegations by U.S. intelligence agencies that Russia meddled in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and possible connections between Russian officials and the Trump campaign.
No proof of collusion has been found after more than nine months. Moscow has denied any interference and the president has denied any collusion.
The last person to hold a similar position to Cobb’s was lawyer Emmet Flood, who worked in the George W. Bush administration to respond to Congressional inquiries.
Cobb is related to a Hall of Fame baseball player of the same name.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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