
Charlie Spies, the chief counsel for the Republican National Committee, is leaving the party organization a few months after taking on the position. He was “pushed out,” as one person acquainted with the situation put it.
“Charlie approached RNC Chief of Staff, Chris LaCivita, regarding potential time commitment conflicts. It was agreed that, while we value and appreciate Charlie’s expertise as well as professionalism, he cannot fulfill this role full time while still maintaining the commitments to his law firm that he worked for years successfully building,” said RNC spokeswoman Danielle Alvarez in a statement published by NBC News.
A request for comment made on Saturday night was not immediately answered by spies.
As previously reported by NBC News, Spies was brought on board in March to oversee the committee’s legal endeavors amidst the RNC leadership transition, which saw former President Donald Trump support Michael Whatley for the position of chairman, thereby rebranding the committee in his image.
A campaign official once called spies “the best at what he does, acknowledges the FEC loopholes better than anyone,” but they are also “guns for hire.”
Spies, though, did not think highly of the outgoing president.
During the GOP primary, he had previously worked for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. The seasoned Republican attorney gained notoriety for extending the application of super PACs following the historic Citizens United ruling.
Right to Rise, the super PAC that Jeb Bush utilized in the 2016 election cycle to gather a record-breaking $100 million in the months preceding his official announcement as a candidate, was also founded by spies. While serving as a super PAC, spies lodged a complaint against the Trump Organization with the Federal Election Commission in 2015.
Spies also assisted Mitt Romney’s 2008 presidential campaign and worked with Rep. John James, R-Mich.
His spouse, Lisa Spies, a well-known Republican fundraiser, has been leading donor coalitions for the campaign. Lisa Spies worked as a DeSantis fundraiser prior to joining the Trump team.
The hiring of the chief counsel occurred as Whatley assumed leadership of the company in March. Whatley was personally chosen by Trump, who also appointed his daughter-in-law Lara Trump as co-chair.
Former President Obama’s public skepticism and criticism from within the party forced Ronna McDaniel, Whatley’s predecessor as RNC chair, to step down.
Additionally, in the past, Trump allies’ conspiracy theories about the election have been refuted by spies.
The Democratic National Committee’s rapid response director, Alex Floyd, responded to reports that spies were “pushed out” of the RNC with a statement. Floyd claimed that Trump’s takeover of the RNC has resulted in “an election denier litmus test for new hires” and conjectured that spies were “purged for disagreeing with Trump’s dangerous conspiracy theories” regarding the 2020 election.
Spies openly refuted untrue allegations regarding voting machines manipulating votes in 2021. He shot back against the false conspiracy theory that Trump allies have been supporting when asked during a panel discussion at the Conservative Political Action Conference about what should be done about voting machines that are switching votes.
“I have to say that’s just not true, even though I might get heckled off the stage for it. At the time, Spies declared, “There is just no evidence that is true.”