“Government ethics regulations permit the Department of Justice to authorize an employee to participate in a matter where their former employer represents a party,” Justice spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores said in a statement that followed several days of media queries about the issue.

“While we cannot confirm or deny the applicability of the regulation to the matters to which Special Counsel Mueller was appointed, we can confirm that the Department ethics experts have reviewed the matters and determined that Mr. Mueller’s participation in the matters assigned to him is appropriate,” she added…

“Mr. Mueller is permitted to participate in matters involving his former firm’s clients so long as he has no confidential information about the client and did not participate in the representation,” Flores said.

Flores did not name Ivanka Trump, Kushner or Manafort, but a WilmerHale official confirmed to POLITICO last week that the firm represents all three.