White House counsel Don McGahn and former White House chief of staff Reince Priebus have hired a prominent white collar attorney in Washington to advise them on special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe, which reportedly is turning its focus to decisions made in the White House related to the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
An unnamed source told Law360 that William Burck, a partner at the firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP, has been brought on by both McGahn and Priebus.
Burck is a former assistant U.S. attorney and was a deputy counsel to President George W. Bush, according to the Law360 report. He also defended former Virginia Gov. Robert McDonnell (R) in a high-profile corruption case that went to the Supreme Court, where McDonnell’s convictions were overturned.
According to reports in the Washington Post and the New York Times, the Mueller probe has sought interviews with McGahn, Priebus and other current and former aides to President Trump. The probe is said to be examining Trump’s decision to fire former FBI Director James Comey, as well as the White House’s initial response to the revelation that Trump’s son, son-in-law and campaign chairman met with Kremlin-linked figures during the presidential election.
Hope Hicks, a top Trump aide and the interim White House communications director, has also hired a private attorney to represent her in the probe, Politico reported over the weekend.
