White House introduces special counsel amid Russia controversy]

                     White House special counsel Ty Cobb

US President Donald Trump has appointed former federal prosecutor Ty Cobb as the White House special counsel.

The White House made the announcement in a statement on Saturday.

A partner at the Washington, DC, law firm Hogan Lovells, Cobb will be tasked with handling legal and media responses to the growing investigation into Russia’s alleged interference in the 2016 presidential election.

The White House stated that Cobb has a law degree from Georgetown University Law Center and that he attended Harvard University as an undergraduate. It added that he is also a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers.

In a declassified report released in January, the intelligence community concluded that Russia helped with the New York billionaire’s campaign effort ahead of winning the White House, an allegation dismissed both by Moscow and Trump.

The FBI as well as congressional committees are investigating whether the Russian government coordinated with Trump associates during the 2016 campaign and transition.

The US president has a separate legal team, led by his longtime New York-based lawyer Marc Kasowitz, to get him through the Russia controversy.

Kasowitz grabbed the US media’s attention last week by sending a threatening letter to a critic.

"You don't know me, but I will know you," wrote Trump’s lawyer. "How dare you send me an email like that. I'm on you now. You are f---ing with me now. Let's see who you are. Watch your back, b----."