Trump’s Russia probe lawyer calls himself one of the ‘only adults’ in White House in leaked email

Attorney Ty Cobb says he appears to have been 'catfished'

Trump's lawyer suggested he and Chief of Staff John Kelly were only adults in White House (AP)

The attorney responsible for managing Donald Trump's legal responses to the investigation into links between his presidential campaign and Russia, became in embroiled in a bizarre email exchange in which he described himself as one of the "only adults" in the White House.

Ty Cobb responded to messages from Jeff Jetton, a ramen restaurant owner and online troll, who initially asked him: “How are you sleeping at night? You’re a monster.”

Instead of ignoring the message, Mr Cobb replied: “Like a baby…”

Mr Jetton, who shared the emails with Mother Jones magazine, continued the conversation, at one point describing Mr Cobb as “that horrid clown from the Stephen King novel”.

Mr Cobb replied that Mr Jetton was “deranged” and “unimportant” before adding he could “say assertively [that] more adults in the room will be better. Me and Kelly among others”.

He appeared to be referring to White House Chief of Staff John Kelly.

Mr Cobb told the magazine that he appeared to have been “catfished”, adding that he was trying to “turn someone who appeared angry into a friend”.

“This was what I believed to be a private conversation," he said. "There are many pros and talented people in the White House. I am proud to be there."

Mr Cobb, a Harvard University graduate is a partner at Washington DC law firm Hogan Lovells.

He rose to prominence in the mid-1990s, when he defended Democratic Party fundraiser John Huang against charges of violating campaign finance laws. Mr Huang ultimately pleaded guilty in 1999.

Mr Jetton meanwhile, helped found the Washington DC restaurant Toki Underground in 2009, but has been reportedly researching the Trump-Russia investigation as a so-called “citizen sleuth”.

Mr Jetton has reportedly previously spoken to the President’s former foreign policy advisor, Carter Page, according to NPR.