A month after legal threat, County GOP still selling merch

A cease and desist letter threatening legal action over Trump merchandise to Loudoun County Republican Committee (LCRC) Chairman Scott Pio has been ignored, and the merchandise continues to be sold.

On Aug. 6, Dhillon Law Group Inc. of Alexandria, sent Pio the letter over merchandise on the GOP website. T-shirts, coffee mugs and a mouse pad are being sold with a picture taken by an AP photographer of Trump shortly after his assassination attempt.

Typically, professional media photographs are copyrighted material and permission is needed to use them. It's unclear whether Pio received permission from AP to use the photo image.

David Warrington from the Dhillon Law firm on behalf of the Trump campaign stated the sale of "bootleg" merchandise is in "direct defiance" of the campaign's request to stop misappropriating Trump's name, image and likeness and call it a violation of Virginia law (Va. Code § 8.01-40).

However, Pio said he had a brief conversation with Trump when the former president came to the DMV area Aug. 26 to attend a ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery followed by a visit to Truong Tien Vietnamese Restaurant at the Eden Center in Falls Church. During the conversation, Pio claimed Trump was unaware of the legal letter and had no issue with the merchandise. So Pio has continued selling it.

He added that a letter he received from the Trump campaign in April outlined guidelines for using Trump's name, image and likeness to sell merchandise. It requires at least 5% go to the Trump National Committee. Pio said the Loudoun GOP actually gives 10%.

Warrington has been busy lately writing a number of cease and desist letters. Specifically, he has sent cease and desist letters to five other organizations since Spring.

He sent one in June to House Freedom Caucus Chair Bob Good’s (R-Va.) reelection campaign to stop producing yard signs and other merchandise that imply Trump's backing of the congressman.

A second went out on Aug. 16 to the Lincoln Project over a television ad.

A third cease and desist letter was sent to ProPublica asking the media company refrain from publishing an unflattering article of Trump regarding raises, perks and appointments to witnesses who testified on behalf of Trump during past legal proceedings. The media company published the story anyway on June 3.

A fourth cease and desist letter was sent in May to the creators of the film The Apprentice, a new biopic about Trump. “The Movie presents itself as a factual biography of Mr. Trump, yet nothing could be further from the truth,” reads the letter from Warrington to Director Ali Abbasi and Screenwriter Gabriel Sherman.

A fifth was sent to the Pennsylvania Values PAC in June. “We are aware of your advertisement falsely claiming that President Trump has asked Pennsylvania voters not to vote by mail,” Warrington wrote.

Warrington's veracity and tenor are similar to former Trump attorney Michael Cohen, who often used excessively harsh language and threats in order to squash situations that would cast Trump in a negative light. Warrington's letter to Pio used similar language:

"Immediately cease and desist from all unauthorized use of President Trump’s name
and likeness or we will pursue all claims against you. It will hurt. It is in your interest to comply and avoid further escalation. You do not want to make us ask you again."

Warrington has been with Dhillon just over three years. He has worked at a number of other law firms and is a former sergeant in the Marines, according to his LinkedIn profile. He also served as a former president of the Republican National Lawyer's Association.