Duane Morris Lawyers Aid McSwain Bid to Overcome Trump Rejection

More than a dozen Duane Morris lawyers have donated to colleague Bill McSwain’s Republican bid for Pennsylvania governor as the former Donald Trump appointee tries to overcome the ex-president’s criticism that he did “absolutely nothing” to overturn the state’s 2020 election result.

The Philadelphia-based firm’s lawyers chipped in more than $30,000 since the start of 2021 for McSwain, Pennsylvania Department of State records show.

Donors include the firm’s chief executive officer, Matthew Taylor, who gave $5,000, and John Soroko, who preceded Taylor as CEO and donated more than $18,000. Michael Rinaldi—a partner who, like McSwain, served in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania—donated $1,650, the records show.

McSwain, who Trump nominated for the U.S. attorney post in 2017, has been running in the top tier of a crowded field in the May 17 primary. He launched his campaign shortly after joining Duane Morris last year.

State Sen. Doug Mastriano leads with the support of 22% of likely primary voters, followed by former U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta at 19% and McSwain at 17%, according to a poll conducted April 11-13 by The Trafalgar Group. The poll had a 3% error margin.

Trump, who hasn’t yet backed a candidate, said in an April 12 statement he won’t be endorsing McSwain. The former president said McSwain “did absolutely nothing” as U.S. attorney to change the result of the 2020 election Trump claims without evidence that he won. Joe Biden beat Trump in Pennsylvania 50.01% to 48.84%, state returns show.

“It was there for the taking and he failed so badly,” Trump said in the statement of McSwain, calling him a “coward.”

McSwain, who was confirmed for the U.S. attorney post in 2018, stepped down after Trump left office and joined Duane Morris as a litigator. He specializes in white collar criminal matters, internal investigations and business litigation, according to his firm bio.

He has looked to stand out in a crowded Republican primary field by toeing the line between Trump loyalists and moderates, in the mold of Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, according to Chris Borick, a political science professor at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

“A lot of Republicans see him as the most electable candidate next fall against a very strong Democratic nominee in the form of Josh Shapiro,” Borick said in an interview. Shapiro is the state’s attorney general and the lone Democrat in the race.

A McSwain spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

Taylor, Duane Morris’ CEO, said in an interview last week that he wants lawyers at his firm to feel free to speak politically regardless of their views.

“We’ve got almost 900 lawyers and we support candidates on the Republican side, the Democratic side, the independent side, all across the country,” he said. “And I think that’s the way we should be.”

Some Duane Morris partners bristled over a letter that McSwain penned to Trump shortly after the 2020 election and the firm’s response when Trump made the letter public, according to the American Lawyer. McSwain courted Trump’s endorsement in the letter and said he had been blocked by then-U.S. Attorney General William Barr from investigating allegations of “election fraud and voter irregularities.”

Not all Duane Morris lawyers making donations in the race for governor support McSwain.

Sheldon Bonovitz, who stepped down as firm chairman in 2008, gave $25,000 to the Shapiro effort, the state records show. Sharon Caffrey, co-chair of the firm’s trial practice group, gave Shapiro’s campaign $500.