Lincoln Project urges 2.7m followers to bombard law firms trying to overturn Pennsylvania election result

Two Ohio-based law firms challenging the Pennsylvania election results through the courts are being targeted by trolls

The Lincoln Project has urged their two million followers to prank employees of law firms representing the Trump campaign in Pennsylvania.

The group of anti-Trump Republicans, who specialise in creative memes and adverts, online spats and social media trolling, tweeted on Tuesday that people should create a fake LinkedIn profile, then apply for a job at one of two law firms where staff working for the Trump campaign are employed.

They should then send a message to a member of staff at Jones Day or Porter Wright. 

“Ask them how they can work for an organization trying to overturn the will of the American people,” the Lincoln Project said.

Four law suits have been filed in Pennsylvania so far.

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When one person worried that the Lincoln Project’s trolling campaign was “undemocratic, potentially dangerous, and counterproductive”, the Lincoln Project responded that “Trump's encouragement of harrassment of American democracy is undemocratic, potentially dangerous, and counterproductive”.

Nine partners and associates of Cleveland, Ohio-based Jones Day - one of the country’s largest law firms, founded in 1825 and with 23 international offices in addition to their 18 US sites - said they were concerned about the reputational damage to the firm.

They told the New York Times they are worried that the Trump campaign is advancing arguments that lack evidence and may be helping Mr Trump and his allies undermine the integrity of American elections.

At another large firm, Porter Wright Morris & Arthur, based in Columbus, Ohio, lawyers have held internal meetings to voice similar concerns about their firm’s election-related work, the paper reported, and one lawyer has resigned.

Robert Tannous, managing partner at Porter Wright, said: “Porter Wright has a long history of representing candidates, political parties, interest groups and individuals at the local, state and federal levels on both sides of the aisle, and as a law firm will continue to do so.”

Fans of the Lincoln Project were sending in screenshots of their trolling.

The Trump campaign is launching a flurry of lawsuits across the United States, concentrated in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada.

The evidence so far has been extremely flimsy, with “proof” coming from hear-say, rumour and speculation rather than facts.

In Nevada one ballot is believed to have been mailed in with the name of a woman who had recently died, but the Trump campaign’s accusations of widespread, massive vote-rigging are so far proving baseless.

Minor computer glitches in Georgia have been rectified, and the counting process unaffected, officials said on Monday.

Wisconsin and Georgia will hold recounts, given the narrow margin, but neither are necessary for Mr Biden to claim victory. Georgia has not yet even been called for either man.

The Trump campaign’s legal efforts are being headed by businessman David Bossie, who on Monday tested positive for Covid-19. He was being assisted by Rudy Giuliani, Mr Trump’s lawyer; Jared Kushner, his son-in-law; and representatives from the two law firms.

During Mr Trump’s 2016 campaign, a Jones Day partner, Donald McGahn served as his outside lawyer, leading recount fights in critical states. 

Mr McGahn later became Mr Trump’s White House counsel, before returning to Jones Day.

Since 2015, Jones Day has received more than $20 million in fees from the Trump campaigns, political groups linked to Mr Trump and the Republican National Committee, according to federal records.