Cleta Mitchell, who assisted Trump on call with Georgian officials, resigns from law firm

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National law firm Foley & Lardner has previously said it was “concerned” about Mitchell’s involvement in Trump’s appeal with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, and said the firm was not was engaged in any legal work challenging the election results. On Tuesday, he announced that Mitchell was no longer with the firm.

“Cleta Mitchell has informed the management of the firm of her decision to resign from Foley & Lardner with immediate effect. Ms. Mitchell concluded that her departure was in the best interests of the firm, as well as in her personal interests,” said the spokesperson. Cabinet Dan Farrell spoke in a statement Tuesday. “We thank her for her contributions to the firm and wish her good luck.”

Mitchell told friends and clients on Tuesday in a personal email that she had left her law firm after nearly two decades, accusing “a massive pressure campaign over the past few days mounted by leftist groups.” against her, the firm and its clients resulting from its affiliation with Trump and its post-election litigation and its efforts in Georgia.

“With the ever more brazen attacks on the Tories and, more specifically, on anyone who supports and wants to help President Trump, I realize that a large national law firm is no longer the right platform for me or my firm. lawyers, ”she wrote. Mitchell confirmed his email to CNN but declined to comment further.

Mitchell was for many years one of the most prominent right-wing voices alleging electoral fraud.

During Trump’s Jan. 2 call with Raffensperger, White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows identified Mitchell as an attorney involved in Trump’s efforts.

In appeal, Trump asks Georgian officials to 'find' votes to tilt election

She has spoken several times during the appeal of a lawsuit Trump brought to quash Georgia’s certification of results and Trump’s efforts to get records from the state. A state attorney told her that the information she had was “not accurate”.

Law firms, which often pride themselves on representing unpopular positions, rarely react strongly to political discourse. But Trump’s weekend call to Georgian officials and his insistence on trying to change the outcome of the election was seen by the legal community as extraordinary and, in many cases, ethically and democratically prohibited.

In excerpts from the incredible hour-long phone call, Trump lambasted his fellow Republican for refusing to falsely say he won the election in Georgia and repeatedly touting baseless allegations of voter fraud.

“The Georgian people are angry. The people of the country are angry. And there’s nothing wrong with saying that, you know, uh, you’ve recalculated,” Trump said in part of the call. Raffensperger replied: “Well, Mr. President, the challenge you have is that the data you have is wrong.”

Officials in Raffensperger’s office recorded the call with Trump, according to a source who was on the phone and had first-hand knowledge of the conversation. Raffensperger has told his advisers he does not want the recording or transcript of the call to be played unless Trump attacks or misrepresents the call, according to the source. Trump attacked Raffensperger in a tweet Sunday morning and referred to the call.

Mitchell’s involvement surprised some. CNN previously reported that several senior officials were unaware that Mitchell was working with the president until she surfaced during Trump’s call with Raffensperger. Republican sources told CNN late last year that Mitchell, who has been active in Republican causes, including gun rights, was among prominent conservative advocates towards whom a GOP presidential campaign would turn to a serious electoral legal struggle.

But that effort never materialized, and courts have resoundingly and repeatedly dismissed Trump’s post-election lawsuits, including in federal court in Georgia on Tuesday morning.

In parts of the Jan. 2 appeal, Mitchell urged Georgian officials to help Trump. She told the state that the president is looking for her voting data and records. “I think what the president is saying, and what we’re trying to do is say, listen, the court is not following up on our petition,” she said on the call. “But the Georgian people and the American people have a right to know the answers. And you have data and records that we do not have access to.”

Trump has spent the last few weeks of his tenure largely undermining election results, spreading unsubstantiated allegations of voter fraud and urging state officials to intervene on his behalf. Last month, Trump called on Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, pushing the Republican to convince state lawmakers to reverse Democrat Joe Biden’s victory in the state, a source familiar with the conversation told CNN.
The president has spoken to the Speaker of the House in Pennsylvania, a state that Biden also won, on several occasions about the Keystone state election results, inquiring about their electoral process, said a spokesperson for the legislator last month.

In November, Trump invited Republican lawmakers from Michigan states to the White House and called on two members of the Wayne County Republican Solicitation Council to offer his support after voting to certify election results in the largest county in the state, according to a person familiar with the matter.

This story has been updated with Mitchell’s letter to clients and friends.

Jason Morris, Chandelis Duster, Devan Cole, Kevin Liptak, Kaitlan Collins, Erica Orden, Evan Perez, Kara Scannell, Jim Acosta, Paul LeBlanc, Kristen Holmes, Veronica Stracqualursi, Annie Grayer and Jeremy Herb contributed to this report.

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