'One real mess': Trump aides face the prospect of giant legal bills

Welcome to the legal quicksand stage of working in the Trump White House.

As the broadening impeachment investigation encroaches on the West Wing, more White House aides are grappling with the prospect of retaining expensive Washington lawyers to protect themselves from the fallout.

Roughly a dozen current and former administration officials already have testified behind closed doors - including top diplomats, State Department aides and two current and former National Security Council staffers. All have had to hire attorneys, many of them from top Washington law firms that specialize in congressional investigations, white collar crime or national security matters - advice that typically costs $1,000 to $1,500 an hour, according to three lawyers.