A Republican election lawyer with ties to three of former president Donald Trump’s GOP primary opponents has joined a crowded field of individuals and groups exploring whether the former president can be kept off the ballot for his role in fomenting the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Jason Torchinsky, a partner with the Virginia law firm Holtzman Vogel,has in recent days initiated conversations about the idea of trying to disqualify Trump with a range of figures, including a Democratic secretary of state, fellow election lawyers and a retired federal judge who has helped lead the push to question Trump’s eligibility, according to multiple people familiar with the calls.
The lawyer’s involvement reflects the latest escalation in an emerging legal fight over a once-obscure provision of the Constitution. The tussle has produced surprising alliances, and analysts say it will probably end with a ruling on Trump’s eligibility from the Supreme Court.
Torchinsky’s firm has done legal work for the campaigns of former New Jersey governor Chris Christie and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, as well as for Never Back Down, the political action committee promoting the presidential campaign of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Torchinsky, a longtime GOP election lawyer who has also represented the Republican National Committee, is researching the issue not for Trump’s rivals but for Jacob Harriman, the founder of a nonpartisan service organization called More Perfect Union, Harriman said in a statement to The Washington Post.
“It is critical to understand if there is a legitimate risk of nominating a candidate who could be deemed to be ineligible for office,” Harriman said. Torchinsky declined to comment.