Welcome to Pay Dirt—exclusive reporting and research from The Daily Beast’s Lachlan Markay on corruption, campaign finance, and influence-peddling in the nation’s capital. For Beast Inside members only.

The White House has waived ethics rules for two of its top lawyers, including President Donald Trump’s newly appointed White House counsel, allowing them to work with former clients as they steer the administration’s legal strategy.

Both White House counsel Pat Cipollone and his deputy Patrick Philbin were excused in late January from provisions of a federal law that seeks to bar federal appointees from decision-making that could affect the financial interests of their former employers.