Justice Department officials said Robert Mueller's work at a firm that previously represented members of the Trump family will not impede his investigation. The firm said Mueller did not work for any members of the Trump family. | Getty DOJ: Firm's work for Trump family won't impede Mueller probe

Justice Department ethics officials concluded that it is "appropriate" for recently named special counsel Robert Mueller to move forward with investigating Russia and the 2016 election, despite work by his former law firm that might overlap with his inquiry, a DOJ spokeswoman said Tuesday.

Mueller's former firm, WilmerHale, represents at least two of President Donald Trump's family members who also are White House officials — his daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law, Jared Kushner — as well as former campaign chairman Paul Manafort. But the DOJ has decided that shouldn't impede Mueller's probe into Russia's interference in the election, including allegations of contacts between Trump campaign aides and Moscow.


"Government ethics regulations permit the Department of Justice to authorize an employee to participate in a matter where their former employer represents a party," Justice spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores said in a statement that followed several days of media queries about the issue.

"While we cannot confirm or deny the applicability of the regulation to the matters to which Special Counsel Mueller was appointed, we can confirm that the Department ethics experts have reviewed the matters and determined that Mr. Mueller’s participation in the matters assigned to him is appropriate," she added.

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Flores also said ethics rules don't disqualify Mueller from dealing with inquiries that might involve his former firm's clients as long as they were not his.

"Mr. Mueller is permitted to participate in matters involving his former firm’s clients so long as he has no confidential information about the client and did not participate in the representation," Flores said.

Flores did not name Ivanka Trump, Kushner or Manafort, but a WilmerHale official confirmed to POLITICO last week that the firm represents all three.

However, the firm said Mueller had no involvement in the work done for any of the three.

Normally, lawyers entering government are barred for at least a year from matters involving their former firm's clients. However, agency ethics officials can authorize participation in those matters if doing so is deemed to be in the government's interest.

Citing anonymous sources, Reuters reported recently that the White House was considering highlighting Mueller's alleged conflicts in a bid to undermine his credibility.

A White House official who declined to be named referred questions to the Justice Department. "The White House has nothing to do with this process, nor should it," the official said.