Is Trump’s Jewish Lawyer Skirting Ethics Rules With Unusual White House Role?

By Josh Nathan-Kazis June 12, 2017

Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, Marc Kasowitz, is playing a strange dual role in a turbulent White House, the New York Times reported yesterday.

A prominent civil litigator, Kasowitz is representing the president in connection with the Russian investigations. But he’s also considering setting up a White House office, and has given advice about the investigation to White House staff.

According to the Times, Kasowitz advised the staffers not to hire their own lawyers.

Writing at the law blog Lawfare, Paul Rosenzweig suggested that that advice could have broken rules of professional conduct for attorneys.

“Perhaps Mr. Kasowitz needs ethics counsel of his own at this juncture,” Rosenzweig wrote.

Contact Josh Nathan-Kazis at nathankazis@forward.com or on Twitter, @joshnathankazis.