On Saturday the appointment of Ty Cobb, a new White House Special Counsel, was announced. According to a White House official who spoke with CNN, Cobb has been appointed to keep an eye on and offer strategic advice on media-based and legal issues concerning the Russia investigation, an ongoing federal query into potential interference in the 2016 presidential election as well as possible collusion with Donald Trump's campaign.
The appointment of Cobb — who is apparently a "distant relative" to the famous Major League Baseball player of the same name — as White House Special Counsel occurred shortly after Donald Trump Jr. posted an email chain about meeting a Russian lawyer in order to receive purportedly incriminating information about Hillary Clinton.
According to a Washington Post report from 1997, Cobb is a Harvard and Georgetown Law alum, and was described in the article as a "high-profile" and "aggressive" white-collar crime defense lawyer (white-collar crime refers to crime originating in the violation of finance laws conducted by businesses and governmental figures.) Cobb also worked as the chief of the criminal section on drug enforcement and organized crime task force in Baltimore, and prior to being hired as White House Special Counsel, he was employed as a partner at the Washington D.C.-based law firm Hogan Lovells.
According to the same profile published in The Washington Post, "Cobb is an active Republican," but it hasn't stopped the lawyer from representing a diverse list of a companies and individuals. The report detailed how Cobb represented a high-profile member from the rival party, Democratic party fundraiser John Huang. Cobb represented Huang who, at the time, was charged with campaign finance law violation. Huang pleaded guilty in 1999.
Cobb also represented beef processor Hudson Foods during the time it was charged with lying to investigators about an apparent case of meat contamination. Hudson Foods was ultimately acquitted of the charges.
Those who have worked with Cobb or known him describe him in positive words. The man is known to be "genuinely nice," according to CNN legal expert Michael Zeldin. According to the Washington Post profile, police veteran Gary Childs extolled Cobb's level of work ethic, called him the "best prosecutor I ever worked with."
