Trump to pay own legal fees for Russia probe, plans to help pay bills of White House aides

David Jackson | USA TODAY

WASHINGTON – President Trump plans to pay his own legal bills related to the Russia investigation, and is working on a plan to help current and former staff members pay their expenses, a White House attorney said Friday.

White House lawyer Ty Cobb said the president "is paying his own legal fees," and has authorized an effort to help his aides who have been drawn in to the investigations run by congressional and special counsel Robert Mueller.

"The administration and others are working with the Office of Government Ethics and tax specialists to create a lawful mechanism for payment of fees for staffers," Cobb said. "It is expected to be operational shortly.”

Cobb said the Office of Government of Ethics must sign off on any plan. Trump's previous legal bills have been covered by the Republican National Committee.

There is no way to estimate the potential legal fees, given the potential length of Mueller's probe.

Some critics of the administration have raised ethical concerns about his a support fund for staff members, suggesting it could be seen as a way to influence their testimony.

"A potential witness or target of an investigation (and boss of investigators) paying for legal fees of other potential witnesses or targets?" said Walter Shaub, a former head of OGE, said on Twitter last month after a separate report surfaced about Trump potentially paying legal bills for his staff.

A potential witness or target of an investigation (and boss of investigators) paying for legal fees of other potential witnesses or targets? https://t.co/uUl8FS4YBe — Walter Shaub (@waltshaub) October 21, 2017

The special counsel is looking at possible links between Trump associates and Russians who sought to influence last year's presidential election against Hillary Clinton via email hacks and fake news.

Mueller is also looking at possible obstruction of justice in connection with Trump's abrupt firing of FBI Director James Comey in May, who at the time was in charge of the Russia investigation.

Trump has denied any involvement with Russia, and denounced the investigation as a witch hunt.

Mueller's office has interviewed former White House members, including ex-chief of staff Reince Priebus, ex-spokesman Sean Spicer, and ex-aide Keith Kellogg. He also plans to interview current aides, including Communications Director Hope Hicks.

Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his business and campaign associate Rick Gates were recently indicted by a grand jury on charges they secretly worked on behalf of pro-Russian factions in Ukraine, then laundered millions of dollars in profits through foreign bank accounts. Mueller's prosecutors charged that the men sought to cover up their work even while they held senior roles in Trump’s campaign.

In another case, ex-Trump foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos pleaded guilty to a charge that he lied to FBI agents about his contacts with a professor he believed "had substantial connections to Russian government officials" during the campaign. The professor offered him "dirt" — in the form of thousands of emails — on Clinton.

Manafort, Gates, and Papadopoulos would not be eligible for the fund, which applies to people who worked in the White House.

More: Mueller's bombshell: Special counsel charges Manafort, Gates and reveals aide's Russia contacts