Erby said she was asked to support a council resolution to hire Dowd, though she did not want to reveal who called to ask her. She said County Counselor Peter Krane’s office should be more than able to turn over the records requested in the subpoena without the help of an outside law firm.

“It sounds simple to me,” Erby said. “Just give them the information. … This isn’t about the county. This is about Steve Stenger.”

Trakas, too, said he didn’t see why Krane’s office needed outside support to compile the records.

Battle is on: St. Louis County Council calls for federal, state investigations into Northwest Plaza deal The council says it will consider voiding the lease, saying County Executive Steve Stenger has been enriched by $365,000 in donations from the Glarners to his campaign. Stenger says the council's actions are political.

“Someone’s going to have to explain to me why we’re hiring a high-profile law firm simply to comply with a subpoena,” he said.

Stenger said he wasn’t aware of any effort from the county to hire Dowd.

Dowd did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Late Wednesday, the St. Louis County Council posted a notice for a special meeting at 8 p.m. Thursday that includes a “discussion of request from the county counselor to retain outside counsel for the purpose of responding to a federal grand jury subpoena.”