Pence hires outside counsel to deal with Russia probe inquiries

Vice President Pence has hired outside legal counsel to help with both congressional committee inquiries and the special counsel investigation into possible collusion between President Trump’s campaign and Russia. The vice president’s office said Thursday that Pence has retained Richard Cullen, a Richmond-based lawyer and chairman of McGuire Woods who previously served as a U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia. A sitting vice president choosing to hire an outside lawyer is not without precedent. Spiro T. Agnew, Richard Nixon’s vice president, retained outside counsel when he came under investigation on charges of extortion, tax fraud, bribery and conspiracy. He resigned from the vice presidency in 1973, after pleading no contest to tax evasion.