Pence calls hiring of counsel ‘routine’

Vice President Pence explained his decision on Friday to hire an outside lawyer to help him with the special counsel and congressional investigations of Russian election meddling as “very routine.”

“It’s very routine,” he told reporters in Miami. “Very routine.”

Pence’s office confirmed on Thursday that he had retained Richmond-based attorney Richard Cullen, the chairman of the law firm McGuireWoods, to assist him in navigating the potentially difficult legal ground of federal investigations into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.

{mosads}The decision, according to a Pence spokesman, was made to help the vice president fully cooperate with the investigations and any potential inquiries that arise. 

“I can confirm that the Vice President has retained Richard Cullen of McGuire Woods to assist him in responding to inquiries by the special counsel,” spokesman Jarrod Agen said in a statement. “The Vice President is focused entirely on his duties and promoting the President agenda and looks forward to a swift conclusion of this matter.”

That announcement followed President Trump’s decision last month to retain attorney Marc Kasowitz to help him with the potential legal threats related to the Russia investigations. 

In fact, Pence’s decision to hire outside counsel has precedent. President Richard Nixon’s first vice president, Spiro Agnew, retained a personal attorney when he came under investigation for corruption. He resigned from office in 1973.

Former Vice President Al Gore hired outside counsel of his own when he came under scrutiny for soliciting campaign donations using phone calls from the White House.