During a news conference, Boehner denied the agreement was in violation of any House rules when asked by the Washington Blade if he's confident the contract doesn't violate a law mandating that government-allocated funds be approved through the congressional appropriations process before they're obligated for any purpose.

"This hiring was approved by the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group," Boehner said. "I'm confident that it complies with all of the rules of the House."

Boehner didn't answer a subsequent question on whether he could assure taxpayers that the cost of hiring attorney Paul Clement won't exceed the $500,000 initial top sum cap that was agreed to in the contract.