One of two lawyers retained by White House senior adviser jared kushner to represent him during the Russian investigation quit. The New York Daily News reported that veteran Lawyer Jamie Gorelick resigned as attorney for the son-in-law of President Donald Trump due to concerns over conflict of interest.
She left the team as Robert Mueller, the special counsel for the Russia probe, used to work at Wilmer Hale -- which Gorelick owns. Three other members of Mueller’s team also came from the same law firm. Other than the conflict of interest, Gorelick, a Democrat, has been criticized for being part of the Trump legal defense team.
Still advising Kushner
The defense of Kushner currently rests in the hands of Abbe Lowell, but Gorelick said she would still advise Kushner. She is currently guiding the president’s son-in-law in matters of his security clearance and ethics compliance.
The president also got a new lawyer on his team, Ty Cobb. Mashable reported that Cobb, the high-powered attorney who represented people during the term of President Bill Clinton, is known for his handlebar mustache. The addition of a lawyer comes after evidence of apparent Russian interference emerged when Donald Jr. tweeted a copy of the emails from British publicist Rob Goldstone. The emails arranged for Donald Jr. to meet Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya, who claimed to have evidence that the Democratic National Convention allegedly received dirty money.
The money was a contribution from an American hedge fund that dodged taxes in Russia and backed the Magnitsky sanctions.
Kushner has the most to lose
The Washington Post, in an editorial, pointed out that among the three Trump campaign staff who attended the June 9 meeting at Trump Tower with the Russian lawyer and a former Soviet counterintelligence officer, it is Kushner who stands to lose the most with the Russia probe.
The newspaper noted that Donald Jr. had no operational role in the campaign.
Manafort was known for his shady deals with Russians and Ukrainians, while Kushner was tasked with oversight of the Trump campaign’s digital operations. His problems stem from the conclusion of the U.S. intelligence community that Russia meddled with the election and the interference took place mostly in cyberspace.
Kushner is also a White House official as a senior adviser to his father-in-law. His security clearance, which the Democrats had questioned, could be revoked. Ivanka’s husband also failed to include a lot in his disclosures, such as the meeting with Veselnitskaya in his application for security clearance. Gorelick is helping him comply with the requirements.
