Trump’s lawyers are now asking Pennsylvania judge to get involved in attorney squabble
President Donald Trump's voter fraud case in Pennsylvania has now taken a turn to deal with attorney squabbles.
Politico reported Monday that Linda Kerns, the Trump campaign lawyer, complained to a federal court Sunday that she got a mean 60-second voicemail from a lawyer in Kirkland & Ellis, the law firm representing the state of Pennsylvania.
"Kerns' filing said a Kirkland attorney working on the Pennsylvania suit told her that the lawyer who made the call was not involved in the case," the report said. "Kerns said the attorney she contacted admitted the call was 'discourteous' and apologized for wasting her time."
According to the filing, Kerns said, "undersigned counsel has been subjected to continuous harassment in the form of abusive e-mails, phone calls, physical and economic threats, and even accusations of treason – all for representing the President of the United States' campaign in this litigation."
Daniel Donovan, Kirkland's lead attorney, said that he agreed it was "discourteous" but seemed unwilling to agree that it would rise to the level to become part of a voter fraud case.
"That associate was acting unilaterally, in his personal capacity, without the knowledge or authorization of undersigned counsel or the Firm," Donovan wrote. "The associate provided a personal email and had a baby babbling in the background during the voicemail….The Firm expects that every lawyer will conduct themselves with the highest standards of professional conduct, including being respectful of and courteous to other members of the bar."
Donovan said that the associate wasn't even aware that the firm was involved in the case and that there wasn't action required by a judge to handle law firm personnel matters.
Politico also noted that there has been a nationwide effort by the Lincoln Project to encourage law firms to stay away from Trump's voter fraud suits.
"The torrent of criticism appeared to have an effect, as two firms working on the Trump cases — Arizona-based Snell and Wilmer and Ohio-based Porter, Wright, Morris & Arthur — withdrew, leaving the work to small firms and solo practitioners," said Politico. "The Trump campaign turned on its lawyers as they exited last week, saying in a statement that the attorneys had 'buckled' to 'leftist mobs.'"
The Lincoln Project was founded by prominent Republicans who opposed Trump. They're not members of the "left" or a "mob."
Kerns said she believed the voicemail was a violation of court and state bar rules, but told the judge, "If there needs to be a rule saying that Kirkland & Ellis associates should not call opposing counsel and leave an abusive voicemail then all hope is lost."
It's unclear what action Kerns was seeking and why she brought it to the judge if she didn't seek any legal punishment.
Trump has spent the majority of his time in office lashing out at his foes with threats or dispatching his supporters to attack them. In the case of Dr. Anthony Fauci, secret service agents were called in as protection.
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