President Trump taps Rudy Giuliani to take over election legal fight: Sources

Prior lawyers pulled out of a federal lawsuit in Pennsylvania Friday.

ByJohn Santucci andMatthew MoskNovember 13, 2020, 8:22 PM• 5 min read

4:12

Trump addresses nation without conceding election

The president broke his silence in a Rose Garden event saying the COVID-19 vaccine will be free…Read MoreChris Mcgrath/Getty Images

President Donald Trump has installed Rudy Giuliani to lead the legal efforts he has mounted to resuscitate his failed bid for a second term in office, a move that comes after a series of court defeats Friday, two sources told ABC News.

A spokesperson for Giuliani confirmed his expanded role for the president.

The decision, first reported by The New York Times, also came following court filings from the law firm that had been handling some of the Trump campaign’s legal efforts. Lawyers from K Street firm Porter Wright Morris & Arthur have asked to withdraw from the federal lawsuit the Trump campaign filed in Pennsylvania to challenge the election results there.MORE: Election 2020: A look at Trump campaign election lawsuits and where they stand

Biden holds a lead of more than 59,500 votes in Pennsylvania. On Friday, the Trump campaign suffered adverse rulings in six cases in the state — rulings that determined that 8,921 votes the Trump legal team had contested would not be tossed out.

Giuliani has since Election Day been a public face of the president’s legal campaign. He has headlined a series of press conferences to claim, without support, that the mishandling of the election and fraud cost Trump the race, despite purported evidence that has been exposed as weak in court.