But Michael T. van der Veen and William J. Brennan don’t exactly have lengthy records supporting Republican causes in court or offering full-throated public defenses of the former president. As recently as two years ago, according to a former client, van der Veen described Trump as a “f—ing crook.”

He railed in marketing emails for his firm about what he described as a campaign by Pennsylvania Republicans to “unfairly and illegally intimidate voters.” And in the run-up to the 2020 election, he represented a client suing Trump, arguing that the administration was suppressing mail voting with last-minute changes at the U.S. Postal Service.

“Donald Trump doesn’t want you to be able to vote,” read one Aug. 20 email from van der Veen’s firm obtained by The Inquirer. “It’s time to stand up for what’s right.”