The law firm that has long defended Donald J. Trump’s campaign and companies against employment lawsuits suddenly asked to withdraw from the long-standing case, citing an “irreparable breakdown in the attorney-client relationship.” .
The firm of Mr. Larocca, Mr. Hornig, Mr. Greenberg, Mr. Rosen, Mr. Kittridge, Mr. Carlin, and Mr. McPartland has represented Mr. Trump’s political activities in numerous cases dating back to Mr. Trump’s first presidential campaign. , has helped secure several settlements and removals, racking up nearly $3 million in claims in the process.
But late Friday, the party asked a federal judge to allow it to withdraw from a lawsuit filed by former campaign agent AJ Delgado, who claims he was removed from the campaign after revealing she was pregnant in 2016. The timing of the filing is notable, as the same federal court just ordered the campaign to turn over in discovery all claims of sexual harassment, gender or pregnancy discrimination from the 2016 and 2020 campaigns. That was two days later — material that the defendants had long refused to produce. that’s all.
In a motion filed in federal court in Manhattan, lead attorney Jared Brumetti asked for permission to “brief” the matter privately with the judge, without providing details about the dispute. Brumetti did not respond to requests for comment.
The apparent break with a company he has trusted for years comes at a busy time for the former president in legal terms.
He is in the third week of his criminal trial in the 2016 campaign sex scandal cover-up involving porn star Stormy Daniels and faces additional criminal charges in Georgia and two separate federal indictments. ing. The Supreme Court last week heard arguments over whether Trump has complete immunity from criminal prosecution for actions he committed while in the White House. And he is appealing two civil judgments from last year totaling more than $500 million.
It was not immediately clear whether Larocca Hornik, whose office is located in Trump’s downtown Manhattan building, 40 Wall Street, plans to sever ties with Trump. But such a disconnect is nothing new. In January, one of Trump’s lawyers, Joe Tacopina, said he would no longer represent Trump. At least four other lawyers who represented him in various civil and criminal cases resigned last year.
Mr. Delgado, who is representing him in the case, opposed the revocation in a Monday filing, arguing that it should not be granted until discovery is complete, calling the request “a scheme to avoid compliance.” He claimed that.
Judge Katherine H. Parker said Larocca-Hornik must continue to represent the campaign for the foreseeable future and scheduled a meeting with the law firm and the campaign to discuss the issue. Ta.
The firm has represented Trump’s business interests for at least a decade, including defending Trump Model Management in a wage lawsuit filed in 2014. He represented Trump’s campaign in both of his previous White House races and was paid $1.8 million between September 2016 and December 2020, according to Federal Election Commission records. Since then, the former president’s super PAC, Make America Great Again, has paid Larocca-Hornik an additional $990,000, including a $15,103.90 payment through March 25. It is.
In addition to the lawsuit filed by Delgado, the firm is also currently representing the campaign in a sex discrimination and sexual abuse lawsuit brought by Jessica Denson, the campaign’s former Hispanic outreach coordinator in 2016. There is. The latest lawsuit filing in New York state court was filed on April 16, but there is no mention of a desire to end the legal relationship.
Last year, the company helped negotiate a $450,000 settlement in a separate lawsuit filed by Denson challenging the validity of non-disclosure agreements that the Trump campaign required campaign workers to sign during the 2016 campaign. .
And in 2022, Trump’s bodyguard Keith Schiller tore down a sign that read “Trump: Make America Racist Again” in 2015 and punched one of them in the head. He contributed to settlement negotiations for a lawsuit brought by demonstrators alleging that .
Delgado filed a lawsuit in 2019 against the campaign and former advisers Reince Priebus and Sean Spicer, alleging sex and pregnancy discrimination.
While campaigning, she became pregnant by her boss, senior communications advisor and publicist Jason Miller. According to her complaint, when she disclosed her pregnancy shortly after the 2016 election, she was relieved of most of her duties and “immediately and inexplicably stopped receiving her emails and other communications.” ”.
As part of the lawsuit, she is seeking all other complaints of sex discrimination related to the campaign.
