Kushner’s lawyer stepping back from representing him in Russia probe

Senior White House adviser Jared Kushner’s lawyer is stepping back from representing him regarding the evolving probe into alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.

The National Law Journal reported Friday that Jamie Gorelick, the high-powered D.C. attorney that has represented Kushner since the transition period, is stepping back from the Russia probe.

Gorelick, a well-known Democratic donor, was considered to be a top pick to be Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s attorney general in the White House and served as deputy attorney general under President Bill Clinton.

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Gorelick was originally hired by Kushner to represent him on issues related to ethics and security clearance. Kushner will now be represented on the Russia probes by Abbe Lowell, a well-known Washington criminal defense attorney, while Gorelick will remain on Kushner’s legal team to represent him on other matters.

In a statement, Gorelick said that her firm advised Kushner to determine whether she should continue representing him after her former law partner, Robert Mueller, left her firm to form the Justice Department’s special counsel office.

“As we have stated, once Bob Mueller and three of our partners left the firm to form the Special Counsel’s Office, we advised Jared to get independent legal advice on whether to continue with us as counsel,” Gorelick said in a statement.

“As a result of this process, Jared decided that Abbe would represent him in the Russia-related inquiries. We are currently helping Abbe’s team. We will continue to work on the matters for which we were originally retained, with regard to ethics compliance, the SF-86 process, and related issues,” she added.

Gorelick’s removal from the Russia probe defense comes amid Trump’s decision to hire Ty Cobb, a veteran Washington attorney, to join his legal team. Earlier Friday, it was reported that Cobb will now lead the response for all Russia-related inquiries to the White House.

Updated: 8:15 p.m.