Pence hires criminal defence lawyer to aid him in Russia investigations

WASHINGTON — United States Vice President Mike Pence has hired a personal criminal defence lawyer to guide him through the various investigations encircling the White House, an aide said on Thursday (June 15).

Mr Pence has retained Mr Richard Cullen, a former US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, becoming one of the most prominent figures in the Trump administration to have taken on a personal white-collar criminal defence counsel.

“The vice president is focussed entirely on his duties and promoting the president’s agenda and looks forward to a swift conclusion of this matter,” Mr Jarrod Agen, Mr Pence’s communications director, said in confirming the hiring, which was first reported by The Washington Post.

Aides said the vice president had considered several candidates before settling on Mr Cullen and made his final decision earlier this week. They declined to say what had sparked Mr Pence’s decision to hire an outside lawyer and referred all questions concerning the Russia investigation to Mr Cullen’s office.

Mr Cullen had served as special counsel to Virginia Senator Paul Trible during the Iran-Contra investigation and was a member of former President George W Bush’s legal team during the 2000 Florida recount, according to his official biography.

Mr Pence, who had little relationship with the president before joining the campaign ticket just before last July’s Republican convention, is most likely a peripheral figure in the government’s inquiry into Russia’s interference in the election and potential collusion with members of the Trump campaign. Mr Paul Manafort – Mr Trump’s former campaign chairman who has been scrutinised for financial ties to a pro-Russian political party – was instrumental in recruiting Mr Pence.

But as the special counsel investigation progresses – focussing increasingly on the president himself and his actions in office – the vice president’s account as a possible witness may become more relevant.

Mr Pence’s decision comes several weeks after the President Donald Trump hired his longtime personal attorney, Mr Marc Kasowitz, to handle Russia-related inquiries.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) probe, now in the hands of special prosecutor Robert Mueller, shifted its focus to allegations of obstruction in the days after Mr Trump fired the agency’s then director James Comey on May 9.

The new allegations against Mr Trump centre on his own admission that he fired Mr Comey because of the Russia investigation, and suggestions he asked several top intelligence officials for their help altering the direction of the inquiry.

The president denies doing anything wrong and has called the investigations a “witch hunt”. He lashed out on Twitter Thursday (June 15), writing: “You are witnessing the single greatest WITCH HUNT in American political history - led by some very bad and conflicted people!’’

The Washington Post reported Thursday evening that Mr Mueller’s team is also focusing on the finances and business dealings of Mr Jared Kushner, the President’s senior adviser and son-in-law.

The widened Russia probe could have far-reaching repercussions for Mr Trump’s presidency, transforming his closest aides into witnesses.

Mr Pence chaired the president’s transition after the election – a period during which Mr Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn had repeated contact with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. The Associated Press and other news organisations have also reported that Mr Kushner, in December proposed a back channel between the Trump transition team and the Kremlin.

The latest White House crisis struck on the evening of Mr Trump’s 71st birthday, after a day in which he had won plaudits for his handling of the shooting of Republican Congressman Steve Scalise.

In an address to the country, Mr Trump struck a notably less partisan tone in response to his first major domestic crisis.

“We may have our differences, but we do well, in times like these, to remember that everyone who serves in our nation’s capital is here because, above all, they love our country,” he said.

But his tweets meant that the political focus will now swing back to the Russia scandal.

The President has long vehemently denied any collusion with Moscow.

But as the legal rope has tightened, his allies have gone on the offensive, questioning the credibility of the special investigator Mr Mueller, a respected former FBI director who served under the Bush administration. Allies have even floated the idea that Mr Mueller may be fired.

On Wednesday, Mr Trump’s lawyer suggested – without providing evidence – that the FBI had leaked details of the criminal probe.

“The FBI leak of information regarding the President is outrageous, inexcusable and illegal,” Mr Kasowitz said via a spokesman.

Mr Trump also trained his fire on his onetime rival Hillary Clinton. “Why is that Hillary Clintons family and Dems dealings with Russia are not looked at, but my non-dealings are?” he wrote.

“Crooked H destroyed phones w/ hammer, ‘bleached’ emails, & had husband meet w/AG days before she was cleared- & they talk about obstruction?” AGENCIES