New York lawyer Douglas Wigdor, a backer of President Donald Trump in last year's election, said Wednesday he didn't let politics affect his decision to file a headline-grabbing lawsuit this week on behalf of Fox News commentator and private investigator Rod Wheeler.

Wheeler's lawsuit includes claims that Trump encouraged a fake news story about the death of Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich to deflect the spotlight from federal prosecutors' probe of Russian connections with his campaign.

“I'm a lawyer advocating on behalf of my client. I don't have a political litmus test to determine whether I take a case on or not,” said Wigdor, who runs a prominent plaintiffs employment firm in New York and who donated $27,000 in connection with a fundraiser for Trump.