Marc Elias has for a long time now been the go-to “super lawyer” for Democrat groups including the Democratic Congressional Committee, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, and the Democratic National Committee, most often in cases involving election law, election results/challenges, redistricting, etc.
In the eyes of conservatives, Elias is undoubtedly one of the biggest Democrat hypocrites to ever walk the face of the Earth (and with the massive ego to match) who purports to be morally opposed to partisan gerrymandering except in all the instances where he’s not.
Most infamously, Elias funded (and then initially lied about his role in) the discredited/debunked Steele dossier that alleged then-GOP candidate for president Donald Trump colluded with Russia to steal the 2016 election.
Considering the decades of service he’s put in for Democrats at the expense of election integrity and the rule of law, it was rather intriguing to find out from Punchbowl News Wednesday morning that the DNC has decided that they will no longer retain his services:
The DNC and Elias had a number of strategic disagreements, according to sources familiar with the internal deliberations.
Elias has represented the DNC since 2009. His firm, the Elias Law Group, represents all of the major Democratic entities in Washington. Elias will continue to work for the DCCC, DSCC, DAGA and DLCC. And Elias counts a slew of senators and members as clients.
Most notably, Elias, a former partner at Perkins Coie, has been behind what he calls the “Democracy Docket” — an array of voting rights challenges nationwide. On Tuesday, Elias said this covered 45 cases in 18 states. And Elias has a knack for winning these cases, raising the ire of Republicans.
Elias’ firm has pulled in roughly $100,000 this year already from the DNC, according to FEC filings. In the 2022 cycle, the DNC paid Elias’ firm just shy of $2 million, according to campaign reports.
While the specifics on those “strategic disagreements” are unknown, this guy’s rap sheet is a lot longer than our intellectual betters in the media would have people believe:
Elias has suffered a number of high-profile legal setbacks in recent years, most notably when a federal judge dismissed one of Elias’s lawsuits as a “Hail Mary” pass meant to undermine free elections.
[…]
The Federal Election Commission last year fined the DNC and Clinton campaign a total of $113,000 for improperly earmarking the dossier in campaign finance disclosures as “legal expenses” instead of opposition research.
Elias was not fined in the FEC case, but he has racked up other controversies.
A Texas appeals court sanctioned Elias in 2021 for making “misleading” statements he made to overturn a ban on straight-ticket ballot options.
Sadly, as Punchbowl also noted, Elias will still be front and center in Democrat anti-election integrity campaigns and lawsuits thanks in no small part to the tangled web of dark money outfits that help fund his operations.
In the meantime, we’re looking to learn more about what the “strategic disagreements” between the DNC and Elias were. As always, stay tuned.
