Mike Pence. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst Vice President Mike Pence sent the lawyer representing him in the federal probe of Russia's US-election meddling to meet with special counsel Robert Mueller this summer, Politico reported on Thursday.

Pence's attorney, Richard Cullen, signed on to represent the vice president in June, about a month after Mueller's investigation got underway. A source cited by Politico said Pence wanted Cullen to meet with Mueller to assure the special counsel that Pence was ready to cooperate with the ongoing investigation.

The Russia probe has largely focused on three key individuals since Mueller took over the inquiry in May: Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman; Michael Flynn, Trump's former national security adviser; and Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law and senior White House adviser.

Pence has mostly stayed out of Mueller's spotlight. His closest encounter with the Russia investigation thus far came in February amid the firestorm over Flynn's repeated encounters with then-Russian ambassador to the US, Sergey Kislyak. Flynn reportedly lied to Pence about his meetings with Kislyak, leading Pence to unwittingly repeat Flynn's false claims in multiple television interviews.