Founder of Trump Defense Firm Indicted in Somali Fraud Case

The federal judge overseeing a pregnancy discrimination case against Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign approved a bid by the ex-president and his team to switch to new legal counsel—bringing in a Maryland law firm where a top partner stands accused of bilking millions belonging to the nation of Somalia.

Judge Katharine Parker signed off Wednesday on the replacement of the Trump camp’s old representation, LaRocca, Hornik, Greenberg, Kittredge, Carlin & McPartland, with a lawyer from the firm Schulman Bhattacharya, LLC. The previous defense team asked to abandon the ex-president and his former top advisors in the lawsuit earlier this month, citing an “irreparable breakdown in the attorney-client relationship” in the suit, which GOP operative Arlene “A.J.” Delgado first brought in 2019, alleging that campaign leadership stripped her of responsibilities after married advisor Jason Miller impregnated her.

Parker initially rejected the law firm’s abdication, but ultimately allowed the campaign to swap in Schulman Bhattacharya, LLC, which did not respond to The Daily Beast’s requests for comment. But while the firm’s attorney Jeffrey Gavenman will be defending Trump, Steve Bannon, Reince Priebus, and Sean Spicer, one of the founding partners at his firm will be fighting to keep himself out of prison.

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