Trump’s election lawyer ditches him over ‘repugnant’ and criminal actions

'The client has used the lawyer's services to perpetrate a crime,' Philadelphia-based attorney Jerome Marcus says

An attorney representing Donald Trump in a Pennsylvania election lawsuit has asked to withdraw from the case following the events that took place in Washington DC on Wednesday. 

Jerome Marcus, a Philadelphia-based lawyer, submitted a request to the courts on Thursday that would allow him to withdraw from the lawsuit, citing concerns of the “repugnant” actions being displayed through these election challenges. 

“The client has used the lawyer's services to perpetrate a crime and the client insists upon taking action that the lawyer considers repugnant and with which the lawyer has a fundamental disagreement,” Mr Marcus wrote in his request. 

This move comes after Mr Marcus was one lawyer who led a lawsuit that asked for the Philadelphia vote count to cease during the week of the 2020 election. The main source of complaint was poll watcher access in the room where election workers were counting mail-in ballots. 

Follow live for the latest fallout from pro-Trump riots at US Capitol

“There’s a nonzero number of people in the room,” Mr Marcus claimed in court to a federal judge.

Ultimately, the lawsuit went nowhere to overturn the election results. The federal judge denied the Trump campaign’s emergency injunction on the same day it was filed. 

But it was one of many lawsuits and baseless claims Mr Trump and his allies have made since the 3 November election. Mr Trump has over and over again told supporters that there was massive voter fraud and he won the election, but he’s provided no proof that would overturn any results. 

On Wednesday, Mr Trump fired up his supporters at a rally held in Washington DC. 

He then encouraged the attendees to march to the US Capitol where members of Congress were meeting at the time to officially certify the Electoral College votes. 

Pro-trump rioters overwhelmed Capitol Police through means of violence and spraying chemical agents at officers, which allowed them to breach the US Capitol and force it into lockdown. It took more than two hours for Capitol Police, with the assistance of other law enforcement agencies, to regain control of the Capitol. 

Mr Trump shared multiple tweets and one video during the events, calling the rioters “great patriots” and telling them he “loves” them – despite the violence that was being displayed. 

The president has since released a statement through one of his advisers stating there “will be an orderly transition on January 20th”, the day in which President-elect Joe Biden will be inaugurated as the 46th president of the United States. 

Mr Miller was not the only one distancing himself from the president following Wednesday’s events. Several members of the Trump administration have resigned over the riots.