CLEVELAND — A Northeast Ohio law firm is pushing back on accusations of aiding President Donald Trump in contesting the results of the 2020 presidential election.
In a statement released Tuesday, Cleveland-based Jones Day said it "is not representing President Trump, his campaign, or any affiliated party in any litigation alleging voter fraud." Furthermore, the firm stated it "is not representing any entity in any litigation challenging or contesting the results of the 2020 general election" and that "media reports to the contrary are false."
Jones Day made headlines this week when The New York Times reported some of its members were experiencing "growing discomfort" about representing Trump in legal matters pertaining to the election. Multiple media outlets (including NBC News and the AP) have called the race for Democratic nominee Joe Biden, but the Republican incumbent president has sought to cast doubt on the results with baseless and unproven accusations of voter fraud and ballot tampering.
The Times says Jones Day has been involved in more than 20 lawsuits involving Trump since the start of his presidency, but now some members of the firm are concerned Trump is using them to "undermine the integrity of American elections." One lawyer at the firm's offices in Washington, who chose to remain anonymous, called their employer's actions "extremely short-sighted."
However, Jones Day calls those reports "false," and says it is currently only representing the Pennsylvania GOP in an effort to obtain a U.S. Supreme Court review of the legality of certain ballots in that commonwealth. The Court originally ruled Pennsylvania officials could accept any ballots delivered to them three days after Election day, provided they were postmarked by Nov. 3.
GOP leaders in the commonwealth are seeking a certiorari on the grounds that the original order unconstitutionally overstepped the authority of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, and while counting continues, Justice Samuel Alito did grant an order instructing election officials to segregate ballots arriving during that three-day period (something they had already been doing). Seventeen states filed amicus briefs supporting Pennsylvania Republicans' position (including Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost), but it is worth noting that even if all of those ballots are somehow disqualified, Biden would maintain his lead over Trump among all commonwealth voters.
This is not the first time Jones Day has dealt with controversial clients: The firm previously represented the Bin Laden family (not Osama) following the 9/11 attacks, as well as Art Modell in his controversial-but-successful attempt to move the Browns to Baltimore in 1995.