RNC Chief Counsel Calls It Quits After Just Two Months

(IntegrityPress.org) – Republican lawyer Charlie Spies, who has worked for several former presidential candidates, has quit his role as Republican National Committee chief counsel after just two months.

Spies released a statement in which he pointed to a conflict of duties as the reason for his departure, saying that he would not be able to give enough time to the RNC role due to his existing commitments. RNC spokesperson Danielle Alvarez echoed his statement, explaining that Spies decided to leave so as to be able to honor his commitments to the law firm that he “spent years successfully building”.

Some sources close to the RNC, however, have offered a different view about the brevity of Spies’ career as chief counsel. Spies, who in the past has worked closely with Donald Trump’s rivals Mitt Romney and Ron DeSantis, is said to have angered Trump and some of his supporters. Although Spies was hired after Trump supporters in the GOP overhauled the RNC, Trump and some of his supporters are said to have expressed concerns over Spies’ apparent lack of loyalty to Trump. Spies’ repeated rejection that Trump’s claim that the 2020 election was rigged is said to have particularly angered the former president’s most ardent supporters.

One Trump campaign official complemented Spies’ knowledge and technical ability but described him as a “gun for hire”. Spies has a long history of working with the GOP across many presidential campaigns, including taking a leading role in the super PAC “Right to Rise” that pushed for a Jeb Bush candidacy in the run up to the 2016 election. During his time in the super PAC, Spies came up against the Trump campaign and even filed a complaint in 2015 against the Trump Organization. Trump reportedly expressed concern at Spies’ chief counsel position in the weeks after his pick as he learned more about the attorney’s campaigning history and his public criticism of claims that the 2020 election was stolen.

Spies’ selection for the RNC chief counsel position came after Michael Whatley took over the role as RNC chair on the back of Ronna McDaniel’s departure. Whatley took the role after receiving Trump’s endorsement and now runs the committee with Lara Trump, Donald’s daughter-in-law, as his co-chair.