title: Trump close to picking outside counsel for Russia probe: Washington Post
text: WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump is seeking outside counsel to help him during investigations into his campaign and Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election, and has narrowed the search to four prominent attorneys, the Washington Post reported on Monday. The lawyers who have spoken to the White House and are widely seen as the finalists are Marc Kasowitz; Robert Giuffra Jr.; Reid Weingarten; and Theodore Olson, the Post said, citing four people briefed on the discussions. The Post said the four spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. Giuffra met with Trump in the Oval Office on Friday, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters. The person also said Kasowitz may have had dinner with Trump on Thursday. A White House spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the meetings. Names could still be added to the list, but two people close to the search told the Post that Trump wants a team of attorneys rather than a single lawyer to represent him. It cited them as saying the team is likely to have lead counselors. The four attorneys did not immediately respond to requests for comment, the Post said, and they did not respond to requests for comment from Reuters. A White House official told the Post that the administration had no comment at the time. The outside counsel would be separate from the White House Counsel’s Office, which is led by Donald McGahn, who served as the Trump campaign’s lawyer. U.S. intelligence agencies concluded in January that Moscow tried to sway the November vote in Trump’s favor. Russia has denied involvement, and Trump has denied any collusion between his campaign and Russia. 