One of Trump's impeachment lawyers filed a lawsuit against him in 2020

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Catherine Garcia
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This time around, they're on the same side, but it was a different story in 2020, when Michael van der Veen, one of former President Donald Trump's impeachment lawyers, sued him.

In August, van der Veen filed a lawsuit against Trump, the U.S. Postal Service, and Postmaster General Louis DeJoy on behalf of an independent political candidate in Pennsylvania. The suit alleges that changes were made at the USPS to make it harder for people to vote by mail during the pandemic. Trump, the suit says, made "repeated claims" that mail-in voting is "ripe with fraud" but had "no evidence in support of these claims."

Based in Philadelphia, van der Veen is the co-founder of a law firm that specializes in personal injury suits. In December, the firm hired Bruce Castor, who signed on last month to serve as one of Trump's impeachment lawyers. Castor and Atlanta-based lawyer David Schoen delivered opening arguments at the impeachment trial on Tuesday, and van der Veen joined them in signing impeachment filings, which claim Trump was free to make his claims that election laws were changed illegally to taint the election, The Washington Post reports.

Van der Veen, who did not respond to the Post's requests for comment, has donated to Democratic politicians in the past, including Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon. She told the Post she would love to know if Trump realizes he hired someone who filed a lawsuit against him last year, adding, "It does seem a little out of character for the former president to embrace someone who so recently sued him."

More stories from theweek.com
Jared and Ivanka reportedly warn Trump 'he can still screw this up' ahead of likely impeachment acquittal
Trump reportedly avoided calling Biden a 'predator' in ads because it would 'open up his own can of worms'
Sen. Coons: Trump's impeachment defense is 'the Four Seasons Total Landscaping of the legal profession'

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