Trump's new Pennsylvania lawyer is a conservative radio host who's said Biden won

(Image credit: Nathan Howard/Getty Image)

last updated 17 November 2020

President Trump's campaign on Monday replaced its entire legal team arguing his key federal lawsuit in Pennsylvania, naming conservative Harrisburg talk show host Marc Scaringi the lead lawyer in the case. The two Texas lawyers Scaringi replaced had been appointed Friday, taking over for the law firm Porter, Wright Morris & Arthur, which bowed out.

On Monday night, Scaringi asked U.S. District Judge Matthew Brann to move back Tuesday's make-or-break hearing in the case, and Brann said no, "Scarinigi is aware of the schedule set by the court in this matter" and "counsel for the parties are expected to be prepared for argument and questioning." The lawsuit in question — Trump's main effort to overturn his loss in the state to President-elect Joe Biden — was dramatically scaled back Sunday.

Scaringi was already publicly skeptical of Trump's chances, telling his radio audience Nov. 7 that "in my view, the litigation will not work" to "reverse this election," and "there really are no bombshells that are about to drop that will derail a Biden presidency, including these lawsuits." A now-removed, unsigned blog post at Scaringi's law firm, Politico reports, said: "Joe Biden has successfully claimed the role of the 46th president of the United States."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Trump placed his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani in charge of his fading legal efforts over the weekend, following a contentious Oval Office meeting late last week in which Giuliani, attending by phone, chewed out Trump's campaign lawyers telling the president his odds of reversing his loss were thin and narrowing, and Trump deputy campaign manager Justin Clark shot back that Giuliani is a "f---ing a--hole," CNN reports. Trump's lawyers had just dropped a lawsuit in Arizona, to Trump's surprise. Four more pro-Trump cases brought by voters in Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Georgia were scrapped Monday.

Explore More

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.