Trump campaign lawyers’ bid to withdraw from discrimination case gets closed-door hearing

A
federal
judge
in
New
York
scheduled
a
closed-door
meeting
Wednesday
afternoon
on
a
request
by
lawyers
for

Donald
Trump’s
presidential
campaign
to
withdraw
from
a
gender
discrimination
lawsuit
filed
by
former
senior
advisor
to
his
2016
White
House
bid.

The
law
firm
at
LaRocca,
Hornik,
Greenberg,
Kittredge,
Carlin
&
McPartland
asked
to
withdraw
from
the
case
filed
by

Arlene “A.J.”
Delgado
last
Friday
in
a
court
motion,
because
of
what
it
called “an
irreparable
breakdown
in
the
attorney-client
relationship
between
the
Firm
and
the
Campaign.”

The
filings
said
the
firm “respectfully
requests
leave
to
explain
to
the
Court
in
camera”
the
details
of
that
breakdown.

In
camera
proceedings
are
conducted
by
judges
without
members
of
the
public
or
press
present.

Magistrate
Judge
Katharine
Parker
said
she
would
conduct
an
in
camera
conference
on
the
firm’s
request
starting
at
3
p.m.
ET
Wednesday “with
the
defendants
and
their
attorneys.”
Parker’s
notice
indicated
that
Delgado
was
not
invited
to
the
conference.

Delgado’s
suit,
filed
in
2019,
alleges
that
she
was
stripped
of
her
job
responsibilities
as
advisor
and
director
of
Hispanic
outreach
for
Trump’s
campaign
in
late
2016
and
prevented
from
taking
an
expected
job
in
the
White
House
because
of
her
disclosure
that
she
had
become
pregnant
by
the
then-
and
now-Trump
campaign
advisor
Jason
Miller.

The
suit
also
claims
the
defendants
reneged
on
an
agreement
in
2017
to
privately
settle
her
complaint
for
an
undisclosed
amount
of
money.

Delgado
told
Parker
in
a
filing
Monday
that
she
objected
to
LaRocca,
Hornik’s
motion
to
withdraw
from
the
case.
Defendants
include
Donald
J.
Trump
For
President,
Inc.,
former
Trump
White
House
chief
of
staff
Reince
Priebus,
former
White
House
advisor
Steve
Bannon
and
former
White
House
press
secretary
Sean
Spicer.

“The
Firm
has
represented
the
Trump
Campaign
in
this
matter
since
July
2017
—
i.e.,
for
nearly
seven
years,”
wrote
Delgado,
who
is
representing
herself
in
the
suit
in
U.S.
District
Court
in
Manhattan.

“Yet,
it
abruptly
filed
a
Motion
to
Withdraw
on
Friday
afternoon,
April
26,
2024:
(a)
with
only
six
days
remaining
in
discovery;
and
(b)
a
mere
two
days
after
the
Campaign
was
ordered
to
produce
key
information
to
Plaintiff,
and
with
said
information
due
this
week.”

Delgado
noted
that
on
April
24,
Parker
had
granted
her
request
that
Trump’s
campaign “must
produce
any
complaints
of:
gender
discrimination,
pregnancy
discrimination,
and
sexual
harassment,
through
the
2020-election
cycle.”

Delgado
said
the
timing
of
the
withdrawal
motion “stinks
to
high
heaven.”

“What
happened
between
Wednesday
and
Friday
that
caused
a
sudden ‘irreparable
breakdown’
with
the
client,
allegedly
leaving
the
Firm
no
choice
but
to
withdraw?”
Delgado
wrote.

CNBC
has
requested
comment
from
one
of
LaRocca,
Hornik’s
lawyers,
and
from
a
spokesman
for
Trump’s
current
campaign
for
president.