Ty Cobb, Former Special Counsel to President Trump: Insights on the Response to the Russia Collusion Investigation, Past and Present

Early Returns - Law and Politics with Jan Baran

It has been six years since Donald Trump’s 2016 Presidential campaign was accused of colluding with Russia to win the White House. Those allegations have caused a tidal wave of legal battles—ranging from congressional inquiries, to a Special Counsel probe led by Robert Mueller, an impeachment trial in the U.S. Senate, and multiple prosecutions. In this episode of Early Returns, Jan discusses some of this fallout with Ty Cobb – the former White House Special Counsel who spearheaded President Trump’s response to the Mueller investigation. In particular, Ty sheds light on what it was like to represent the President on this matter. He explains how his team worked collaboratively with Mueller in an effort to achieve speedy exoneration, while also preserving executive privilege. Ty also provides thoughtful analysis on the latest chapter in the Trump-Russia storyline: the ongoing Durham investigation into the origins of the scandal, and the related prosecution of Clinton lawyer Michael Sussman (who was accused of lying to the FBI about his role in raising Russian meddling concerns). As part of the conversation, Ty also shares some stories from his personal and professional background – including the time he successfully prosecuted the vice consul of Thailand for smuggling drugs into the United States. He also provides some excellent book recommendations for listeners of the podcast.
About Ty Cobb:
Ty Cobb currently is handling selected complex litigation and corporate governance matters at Ty Cobb, PLLC. Ty served in the government most recently as an Assistant to the President of the United States, serving as Special Counsel to the President from July 2017 until June 2018. His prior government experience included a clerkship with a United States District Court Judge, over 6 years as a federal prosecutor (during a significant portion of which he served as the Head of the Criminal Division in Maryland and as the Regional Coordinator of the President’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force), and as Special Trial Counsel to the Independent Counsel in the HUD investigation in connection with which he prosecuted former Reagan Secretary of the Interior, James Watt.

Until July 2017, he was a partner for 29 years primarily in in the Washington, D.C. office of Hogan Lovells. He served on the firm's Executive Committee and chaired Hogan's practices involving white collar criminal litigation, DOJ and SEC enforcement matters (with an emphasis on cases involving insider trading and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act), and Congressional investigations and hearings for over 20 years. Ty was frequently sought after as an advocate for and advisor to Fortune 100 public companies and executives in "bet the company" cases. His clients also included Cabinet members and other senior government officials of both parties.

Ty is a longstanding Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. In 2020, he was inducted into the Lawdragon Hall of Fame, and Lawdragon Magazine again recognized him as one of the "500 Leading Lawyers in America". In 2018, Ty was selected as a “Lawdragon Legend”. In 2011, Ty was inducted into the Ethisphere Hall of Fame, which recognizes attorneys who made lasting contributions to the advancement of corporate ethics and compliance. In addition to his legal work, Ty is a committed conservationist and long served on the Board of the Grand Canyon Trust which he chaired for several years. He is currently on the Board of the Kiawah Island Conservancy.