Prescott Valley, Arizona. — Several Republican lawyers in Arizona said they and others involved in the party's election litigation efforts in previous cycles are keeping their distance this time, in large part because of Senate candidate Kari Lake's history of false claims of fraud.
Earlier this month, Corey Langhofer resigned as chief legal counsel to former President Donald Trump and the Republican National Committee's “election integrity” operation in Arizona. He is now among more than a dozen Republican lawyers in the state who have been part of the Arizona GOP case in previous election cycles, including 2020 and 2022, but are not scheduled to participate in the effort this fall.
It's a dynamic that has created uncertainty around the team A much-discussed legal effort Weeks before Election Day, in a key state in the race for the White House and Senate.
Langhofer, who filed the Trump campaign's initial legal challenge of his 2020 loss in the state and represents the Arizona state Senate Discredited audits led by “cyber ninjas” In that year's election, NBC News declined to comment on his departure.
Three Republican lawyers involved in previous campaigns in Arizona, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak candidly about their reluctance to get involved in the cycle, told NBC News they are particularly concerned about Lake's tilt — which challenges his defeat in 2022. The state's gubernatorial race is underway while sowing doubts about the upcoming elections – lawsuits and questions to boost the process. One lawyer described it as “exhaustion.”
“Curry creates an environment that is not hospitable to very reasonable people,” said an Arizona Republican lawyer who has been involved in previous rounds.
In addition to Lake, Arizona has become the center of GOP-led conspiracy theories about a stolen election since Trump's 2020 defeat in the presidential race in the state and nationally.
“There is a feeling that (Republican lawyers) are not working proactively enough,” a second lawyer said about stopping the alleged fraud. “But what is enough? If you can’t identify something (wrong to legally challenge), what do you do?”
Following Langhofer's departure, the Trump campaign announced last week the hiring of Republican National Committeewoman and high-powered California lawyer Harmeet Dhillon to move to Arizona for the final weeks of the campaign. Dhillon is not licensed to practice law in Arizona, but a source familiar with the effort said Dhillon is expected to hire a local attorney.
“I don’t know who will be in the war room or any other Arizona lawyers will be there,” said a third Republican lawyer in Arizona who is not involved in this year’s legal effort. “I really don't know what's going on.”
Each of the three lawyers who spoke to NBC News said they are willing to help with Arizona's legal action next month if legitimate concerns about influencing the election arise.
Following Langhofer's departure, Lake's senior campaign adviser, Carolyn Wren, criticized the RNC and the Trump campaign. In a post by X “To tell us they have the 'largest election integrity program' but don't have a single lawyer in Arizona.”
In April, the RNC said it would create a massive “election integrity” operation with 100,000 lawyers and volunteers across the country to prevent fraud ahead of the November elections.
“Is it possible that we are all being criticized by the @gop over a fake 'election integrity' program that doesn't actually exist?” Wayne wrote in the post. “Yes, and to be honest, it’s more believable than it could be.”
Days later, the RNC brought Dhillon on board to oversee the state's legal front. Dhillon doesn't have a deep history in the state, although he worked for Lake during the 2022 election week, when the then-candidate for governor attacked Maricopa County election officials over mechanical problems with some polling station printers that caused long waits in several electoral districts.
According to multiple sources involved in discussions about the decision to move forward with Dhillon, the Trump and Lake campaigns are confident in their decision-making regarding any potential legal proceedings in the coming weeks.
Still, the Arizona Republican Party is now counting on party chair Gina Swaboda to open a dialogue with state and local election officials. Swaboda does not have a law degree, although he previously worked in the Arizona Secretary of State's office.
In a statement, Swaboda expressed confidence in Dhillon.
“Harmit is ready to lead the fight,” said Svoboda. “We are full steam ahead in our unprecedented commitment to election integrity,” he added.
Wayne wrote in a statement to NBC News: “The Curry Lake campaign has full confidence in Harmeet Dhillon and Gina Swaboda to lead election integrity efforts in Arizona and we are thrilled with the results.”
Lake's legal efforts surrounding his last election are still a headache for Arizona Republicans. Earlier this year, one of Lake's lawyers, Brian Blehm, was fined and disbarred. lied in the Arizona Supreme Court while representing Lake's 2022 election challenge.
An Arizona court must also determine the damages Lake owes Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer as part of the defamation lawsuit. filed against him after the 2022 election. Richer, a Republican, alleges in the lawsuit that Lake “repeatedly and falsely accused Richer of causing Lake’s electoral defeat.”
Some of the interparty legal tension also stemmed from Maricopa County Registrar Richer's discovery that 218,000 Arizona voters never proved their citizenship as part of its process for determining voter eligibility — the result of an apparent administrative error years ago.
Earlier this month, Wren openly asked questions why the Trump campaign “did not file a lawsuit to challenge the eligibility of 218,000 undocumented ‘U.S. citizen’ voters.”
The Arizona Republican Party, however, filed an amicus brief with the court that sided with Democratic Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, urging the court to uphold the eligibility of these voters – most of whom were registered as Republicans – to allow them to participate. . In this fall's elections.
