Trump hires new attorney who worked for judge leading charge for ballot ban

Anticipating a historic battle before the Supreme Court to keep himself on the 2024 ballot, Donald Trump has hired a new lawyer with not only more experience addressing the nation's highest court, but also a surprising connection to the battle over how the 14th Amendment should be interpreted.

According to a report from Bloomberg Law, Trump has tapped former Texas solicitor general Jonathan Mitchell to advocate for him as the Supreme Court hears arguments on whether the former president can be banned from ballots for participating in the Jan. 6 insurrection aimed at thwarting the certification of President Joe Biden's win.

As the report notes, Mitchell was a key figure in the Texas abortion ban and advocated for the $10,000 bounties offered for turning in women and doctors attempting to circumvent the state's draconian restrictions on a woman's right to choose.

"Mitchell became a conservative hero for helping create the Texas abortion law that banned the procedure after six weeks of pregnancy," the report states.

"The statute was designed to avoid judicial review by placing enforcement in the hands of the public instead of the state. That provision — assailed by critics — helped the law withstand Supreme Court review in 2021 even though Roe v. Wade was still in place."

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The report adds that Mitchell has a personal connection to the 14th Amendment ballot battle, having clerked for former federal Judge Michael Luttig, a prominent and outspoken advocate for banning Trump from holding office again.

Bloomberg's Erik Larson and Greg Stohr wrote, "One of Mitchell’s first jobs out of law school in 2001 was to clerk for then-federal appeals court Judge J. Michael Luttig, now a corporate lawyer and outspoken supporter of the effort to disqualify Trump from the 2024 ballot under the 14th Amendment. Luttig nevertheless recalls Mitchell fondly."

In an interview, Luttig stated, "Jonathan clerked with me almost 25 years ago and he was a superb clerk and brilliant constitutional lawyer,” before refusing to address his new job representing the former president.

The report adds that Mitchell also represents Christian-owned businesses balking at a central provision of the Affordable Care Act that requires companies "to cover at no cost under a provision of ACA, also known as Obamacare" drugs they believe forces Christians to subsidize 'homosexual behavior' in violation of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act."

That case is currently being appealed to the conservative Fifth Circuit, with arguments expected in March.