When President Trump used the prime-time debate last week to urge his supporters to “go into the polls and watch very carefully,” he wasn't just issuing a call for a grass-roots movement or raising the prospect of intimidation tactics at voting Site (s. He was also nodding to an extensive behind-the-scenes effort led by the lawyers and operatives on his campaign.
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Over the summer, Mr. Trump named a new campaign manager, Bill Stepien, who was once a top aide to form Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey before being fired amid the “Bridgegate” scandal. Mr. Stepien swiftly elevated a group of lieutenants focused on using aggressive electoral tactics, moves that led Marc E. Elias, the leading election lawyer for the Democratic Party, to tweet that Mr. Trump was “tripling down” on “opposing voting rights.” ”
One of the main architects of the effort is Justin Clark, whom Mr. Stepien promoted to deputy campaign manager. He has been viewed with suspicion among Democrats since he was recorded last year saying, “Traditionally it’s always been Republicans suppressing votes in places,” and adding that in 2020 the party would “start playing offense a little bit.”
Other key figures in the campaign include a senior aide who once oversaw a right-wing information-gathering operation for the conservative Koch brothers; an adviser who was involved in a secret vote-challenge operation for President George W. Bush’s re-election campaign in 2004; and a campaign counsel who is coordinating a series of lawsuits aimed at preventing the expansion of mail voting.