White House special counsel Ty Cobb on Tuesday engaged in a lengthy email exchange in which he defended his decision to join President Donald Trump's legal team and appeared to refer to himself and White House chief of staff John Kelly as the "adults in the room."

Jeff Jetton, the owner of a popular ramen restaurant in Washington, DC, has made himself known to reporters by digging into Trump's alleged ties to Russia, partly as an unabashed troll. He sat down with Carter Page, an early Trump campaign foreign-policy adviser, and Sergei Millian, a reported source in the dossier alleging Trump-Russia ties, earlier this year for separate on-the-record interviews. Jetton also once wrote Trump's personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, to give him fashion advice.

Cobb responded, using his official White House email account, to Jetton's obscenity-laden emails to him on Tuesday night. The exchange, which was provided to Business Insider by Jetton, sheds light on Cobb's motivations for entering the White House and his perception of his role there.

19 PHOTOS Confirmation hearings for Trump administration nominees See Gallery Confirmation hearings for Trump administration nominees U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) testifies at a Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing for Sessions to become U.S. attorney general on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S. January 10, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) is sworn in to testify at a Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing to become U.S. attorney general on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S. January 10, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque Retired General John Kelly testifies before a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee confirmation hearing on Kelly?s nomination to be Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., January 10, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts Protesters dressed as Klansmen disrupt the start of a Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing for U.S. Attorney General-nominee Sen. Jeff Sessions (R) on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., January 10, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY Rex Tillerson, the former chairman and chief executive officer of Exxon Mobil, testifies during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing to become U.S. Secretary of State on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S. January 11, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque Cornell Brooks, president and CEO of the NAACP, listens to testimony during the second day of confirmation hearings on Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) nomination to be U.S. attorney general in Washington, U.S., January 11, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts Witnesses are sworn for the second day of confirmation hearings on Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) nomination to be U.S. attorney general in Washington, U.S., January 11, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) speaks during the second day of confirmation hearings on Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) nomination to be U.S. attorney general in Washington, U.S., January 11, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts Demonstrators protest against President-elect Donald Trump's pick for secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, outside the hearing room where Tillerson's confirmation hearing is being held today on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., January 11, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque Rex Tillerson, former chief executive officer of Exxon Mobil Corp. and U.S. secretary of state nominee for president-elect Donald Trump, arrives to a Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2017. Tillerson said Russia poses a danger to the U.S. and must be held accountable for its actions, a sharp departure from comments by Trump, who has called for a friendlier relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images Elaine Chao appears before the Senate The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC for her confirmation hearing to be US Secretary of Transportation, January 11, 2017. / AFP / CHRIS KLEPONIS (Photo credit should read CHRIS KLEPONIS/AFP/Getty Images) UNITED STATES - JANUARY 11: Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill.,listens during the confirmation hearing for Secretary of Transportation nominee Elaine Chao in the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee on Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2017. (Photo By Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call) UNITED STATES - JANUARY 11: A protester disrupts the Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing for Secretary of State nominee Rex Tillerson in Dirksen Building, January 11, 2017. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call) UNITED STATES - JANUARY 11: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell introduces his wife Secretary of Transportation nominee Elaine Chao during her Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee confirmation hearing on Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2017. (Photo By Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call) WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 12: Defense Secretary nominee retired Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis (L) stands with Former Defense Secretary William Cohen during his Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill, on January 12, 2017 in Washington, DC. Gen. Mattis will need a waiver from Congress to bypass a law prohibiting recently retired military officers from serving as Defense secretary. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images) An anti-war protester is led from the room during testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee during the second day of confirmation hearings on Senator Jeff Sessions' (R-AL) nomination to be U.S. attorney general in Washington, U.S., January 11, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts Rex Tillerson (C), the former chairman and chief executive officer of Exxon Mobil, shakes hands with U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) as he arrives for a Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing to become U.S. Secretary of State on Capitol Hill in Washington January 11, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 12: Defense Secretary nominee retired Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis arrives at his Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill, on January 12, 2017 in Washington, DC. Gen. Mattis will need a waiver from Congress to bypass a law prohibiting recently retired military officers from serving as Defense secretary. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images) WASHINGTON, DC - Former Exxon Mobile Executive Rex Tillerson appears before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations for his confirmation hearing for the post of Secretary of State on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC Wednesday January 11, 2017. (Photo by Melina Mara/The Washington Post via Getty Images) Up Next See Gallery Discover More Like This HIDE CAPTION SHOW CAPTION of SEE ALL BACK TO SLIDE

Cobb, a partner at Hogan Lovells, joined the White House in July to oversee the legal and media response to the ongoing investigation into potential collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.

"How are you sleeping at night? You’re a monster," Jetton wrote to Cobb's White House email account on Tuesday night.

"Like a baby..." Cobb replied.

The conversation escalated quickly, with Jetton attacking "the havoc" Cobb and his "ilk are causing."

"I, like many others, lay awake, restless, my mind dissecting countless scenarios of how bad this could get, what new thing you have dreamt up to pull us down a pathway to hell," Jetton wrote. "You remind me less of a grumpy baseball player and more of that horrid clown from the Stephen King novel."

Cobb replied: "Enjoy talking to the Secret Service. Hope you are you less than nine years old as you seem to be...."

He later called Jetton "deranged impotent and unimportant," but continued to respond.

Jetton wrote that Trump is "screwing everyday Americans" and that "I don't have to tell you that, it's right there slapping you across the face."

Cobb replied: "Dude U have no idea! I walked away from $4 million annually to do this, had to sell my entire retirement account for major capital losses and lost a s---load to try to protect the third pillar of democracy. Your hate I will never understand as an American. Hope you get help!"

Asked later by Jetton to "set the record straight" and explain how Cobb is "justifying" his role at the White House to himself and others, Cobb said he "can say assertively [that] more adults in the room will be better. Me and Kelly among others."

Jetton went on to ask what "drives folks like you to give up their legacies and careers to stand side by side with him."

Cobb then wrote a lengthy note defending his philanthropic record and asserting that the Russia investigation is "limiting" Russia's cooperation with the US against North Korea.

Meet Ty Cobb, the Trump lawyer with Baltimore roots, cowboy boots and a killer mustache. https://t.co/ZsmDkiqo2Rpic.twitter.com/o6VQoPKS8D — The Baltimore Sun (@baltimoresun) August 27, 2017

"Forgiven," Cobb wrote. "You should check out my record, Chairman of the Grand Canyon Trust, largest donor to Mercy Corps, significant donor to Historically black colleges, Feed the Children and other needy and important groups to the tuber of over $4 million in last 10 years, among others."

"Three pillars of govt. All deserve a defense," he continued. "Particularly with phony allegations and fake news. I am on be here for long but will be I my piece against bull---- Russian bull---- that hurts us now and is totally political limiting Russian cooperation against NK. This s--- is real and real time. Got to go: Best, Ty."

It is not the first time Cobb has sent unusual emails from his White House account. He replied to another amateur Trump-Russia sleuth (and troll) on Tuesday night, shortly after his exchange with Jetton, suggesting she should get an IQ test.

"Not really fantasies when Russia just sated on Sunday they regret 'electing Trump,' wrote Olga Lautman. "They don't seem too happy with Trump. Americans aren't either! Oh well the truth shall set everyone free."

Cobb replied: "Seriously Dude, if anyone loves you, let them take you to an IQ test and then do what they suggest....love and peace."

Late Saturday night, Cobb asked this reporter via email in response to questions about the firing of former FBI Director James Comey: "Are you on drugs?"

Jetton told Business Insider that he doesn't know Cobb but emailed to voice his "displeasure in what I see as a pattern of high-powered attorneys in Washington giving up any semblance of ethical consideration to work for a disastrous regime."

Cobb did not respond to emails, calls, and text messages seeking comment on Wednesday.

NOW WATCH: We went inside the Charlottesville winery Trump bragged about during the press conference

See Also:

SEE ALSO: House Intel chair threatens attorney general and FBI Director over Trump-Russia dossier