The Democratic National Committee will no longer require the services of their controversial election lawyer Marc Elias, who has been described as one of the most consequential Democrats not holding office.
On Tuesday, multiple sources told Punchbowl News that the DNC and Elias had a number of strategic disagreements. The lawyer, who has represented the DNC since 2009 and will continue to represent other arms like the DCCC, has been criticized for hypocritically claiming to fight voter suppression while doing his utmost to make sure Democrats prevail in elections.
“The DNC works with a number of law firms on voting rights litigation, compliance, contracting and more. The DNC is appreciative of Elias Law Group’s years of work in service of the values we share,” explained a DNC spokesperson in a statement.
Elias is a former partner at the law firm Perkins Coie and has been behind a group called Democracy Docket, through which he has filed voting rights challenges throughout the country. On Tuesday, Elias explained on Twitter that he is “litigating 45 pro-democracy cases in 18 states.”
The lawyer has been a harsh critic of gerrymandering in Republican states. However, he recently intervened on behalf of the DCCC to defend Maryland’s partisan gerrymandering. Elias argued that it was in the DCCC’s interest to “allow Democratic candidates to be competitive” in the deep-blue state. But the framing does not comport with the fact that nonpartisan groups like the Princeton Gerrymandering Project have given Maryland’s congressional map an “F” grade for offering a “significant Democratic advantage.”
During the 2020 cycle, he tried to get now-Representative Marianette Miller-Meeks (R., Iowa) kicked out of office. Her narrow victory had already been certified by Iowa when Elias claimed to have found extra ballots for her opponent, asking Congress to intervene.
Elias is also known for being the Hillary Clinton campaign lawyer who commissioned the Steele Dossier in 2016 and for leading another recount effort in the 2008 Minnesota Senate election that ended with Democrat Al Franken overtaking Republican Norm Coleman.
The lawyer has previously defended his work to National Review, arguing he is not pragmatic and that “in every case I have been involved in, Republicans have fought to make voting harder.”
A spokesperson for the Elias Group lauded the prior work Elias has done for the DNC and reemphasized he will remain involved in other Democratic Party arms.
“Elias Law Group is proud of the work it has done for the DNC. We look forward to continuing to represent the Democratic Party as well as helping citizens vote, and progressives make change,” the statement read.