Paterno Turns to Criminal Defense Lawyer

Joe Paterno hasn’t been charged with any crimes in the Penn State abuse case, but he has reached out to prominent criminal defense lawyer J. Sedgwick Sollers to represent him just in case, sources tell NBC News. The Washington-based Sollers is famed for having once represented George HW Bush during the Iran-Contra scandal. He has not yet met with Paterno, however, nor has Paterno entered into a formal retainer agreement with him.

A source close to Paterno says he wants representation to deal with both potential civil suits from Jerry Sandusky’s victims and the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s investigation. That investigation expanded yesterday, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports, with state authorities looking into two new allegations against Sandusky, and Texas police investigating claims that he molested a boy there as well. Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett also called for an investigation into Sandusky’s Second Mile charity, which gave him access to young boys, according to the Wall Street Journal. (More Joe Paterno stories.)