A.B. Culvahouse, a Washington attorney who vetted possible vice presidents to John McCain in 2008, will do the same for Donald Trump in 2016.
Culvahouse and Trump met earlier Wednesday, according to a source familiar with the meeting, and he has accepted a role to help investigate and choose potential running mates. Culvahouse is currently a partner at O’Melveny and Myers, and is also a former White House counsel.
The hiring was first reported by Bloomberg News.
Trump will also require his vice presidential prospects to submit their tax returns, which is standard in any search, according to a Trump adviser. Trump has not yet released his own returns, but has said he will do so when he is no longer under audit.
Culvahouse has taken considerable criticism for the 2008 process, which recommended that McCain choose then-Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who initially wilted under intense media scrutiny after her selection. He has defended his decision.
“Nevertheless, I advised Sen. McCain that because her duties had never encompassed foreign policy or defense issues Gov. Palin would not be ready to be vice president on Jan. 20, 2009 — but that I believed she had the presence and wherewithal to grow into the position,” he wrote in The Wall Street Journal as the 2012 vice presidential process was underway. “I summed up her selection as ‘high risk, high reward.’ I stand by that advice.”
Trump is currently weighing several possible vice presidential choices, and has said he will name his choice at or close to the Republican convention this summer. Campaign manager Corey Lewandowski is also spearheading the selection process.
