Spicer says White House to defer all Russia questions to lawyer as investigation heats up

During Wednesday's audio-only White House press briefing, Press Secretary Sean Spicer told reporters that all questions about investigations involving President Donald Trump will be referred to the president's attorney.

When a reporter asked if the president "engaged in obstruction of justice" in meetings with fired FBI director James Comey, Spicer offered a terse response: that "all questions on these matters will be referred to outside counsel, Mark Kasowitz."

This response came a few hours after reports that Comey will soon testify publicly about his allegations that the president pressured him to close the FBI's Russia probe.

A week ago, news broke that Trump was retaining Kasowitz, a well-known Wall Street lawyer, as his private attorney for his defense in the Russia collusion investigation.

Listen to Spicer's response about the president's outside counsel below, via MSNBC.

Big Note: Spicer on Russia probes: "Going forward all questions on these matters will be referred to outside counsel." (via @MSNBC) pic.twitter.com/cvZX8sNtDO

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) May 31, 2017