The White House announced Saturday that President Donald Trump has appointed former federal prosecutor Ty Cobb as White House special counsel.

Cobb is a partner in the investigations practice of the law firm Hogan Lovells in Washington, D.C., the White House statement said. He is expected to oversee the legal and media response to the investigation into Russian meddling in last year's election and alleged collusion by the Trump campaign, a White House official told CNN on Friday.

Cobb is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, the White House statement said. He earned law degree from Georgetown University Law Center and attended Harvard University as an undergraduate, it said.