Another Trump Administration official has hired private legal counsel as multiple investigations continue into potential Trump campaign collusion with Russia as well as alleged obstruction of justice by President Donald Trump himself.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions has retained Charles Cooper, according to a new report.

Chuck Cooper has been criticized for condoning discrimination during his long legal career, from support for Bob Jones’ University’s ban on interracial dating to supporting job discrimination against those with HIV/AIDS. Most recently, Cooper had a prominent role pushing legal discrimination against the LGBTQ community during the legal battles over Proposition 8 and marriage equality.

ADVERTISEMENT

Cooper was on the short list to be Solicitor General, but withdrew his name from consideration, citing Sessions.

“After witnessing the treatment that my friend Jeff Sessions, a decent and honorable man who bears only good will and good cheer to everyone he meets, had to endure at the hands of a partisan opposition that will say anything and do anything to advance their political interests, I am unwilling to subject myself, my family, and my friends to such a process,” Cooper wrote in a statement.

In February, Rachel Maddow broadcast an expose on Cooper: