Law firm drops Trump’s Pennsylvania lawsuit days after legal team in Arizona did the same
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The law firm leading the Trump campaign’s post-election litigation in Pennsylvania has withdrawn from the federal lawsuit it filed earlier this week.
On Monday, Porter Wright Morris & Arthur filed a lawsuit in the Federal District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, in which it argued that there had been “irregularities” in ballots submitted in the state that President-elect Joe Biden won.
In reaction, the Democratic National Committee filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, according to The New York Times.
Although Mr Biden was declared the winner of the presidential election on Saturday, Mr Trump has still not conceded, and has repeatedly falsely claimed that there was widespread voter fraud in multiple swing states.
The Trump campaign issued lawsuits in several states, including Pennsylvania, but there is no evidence to back up the claims of voter fraud.
In a court filing on Friday, Porter Wright announced that the “plaintiffs and Porter Wright have reached a mutual agreement that plaintiffs will be best served if Porter Wright withdraws.”
The filing came a few days after the Times reported that internal tensions had arisen at the law firm this year, due to its representation of Mr Trump.
One Porter Wright employee resigned in protest over the firm’s affiliation with President Trump, as it has received at least $727,000 (£552,051) from the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee (RNC) this year.
Other employees were reportedly concerned that the firm was helping the Trump campaign undermine the integrity of the country’s electoral process.
The firm released a statement on Wednesday, prior to withdrawing from that lawsuit in Pennsylvania, addressing the criticisms it has faced for representing the Trump campaign.
It said that the firm has a “long history of election law work during which we have represented Democratic, Republican and independent campaigns and issues,” and continued: “At times, this calls for us to take on controversial cases.”
Porter Wright added: “We expect criticism in such instances, and we affirm the right of all individuals to express concern and disagreement.”
The law firm previously filed several other lawsuits challenging aspects of Pennsylvania’s voting process, and it is currently unclear whether it is still representing the Trump campaign on those cases.
On Tuesday, law firm Snell & Wilmer withdrew from a similar post-election lawsuit in Maricopa County, Arizona.
The lawsuit, which was filed by the RNC, the Trump campaign and the Arizona Republican Party, alleged that the vote-counting centre in Maricopa County incorrectly counted ballots cast in the presidential election.
There is no evidence that votes in Arizona, which Mr Biden was declared the winner of last week, were counted incorrectly.
The Independent has contacted the Trump campaign, Porter Wright Morris & Arthur and Snell & Wilmer for comment.
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