Armey of Freedom Works leaves DLA Piper law firm amid health care flap

Former House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-Texas) is resigning from DLA Piper law firm amid a wave of negative attention his grassroots organization, Freedom Works, has drawn for helping to organize protesters at health care town hall meetings with members of Congress.

In an interview with POLITCO Armey said that he was concerned about the media scrutiny the health care protests were drawing to the firm he has been associated with since retiring from Congress.

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Armey, who became majority leader after Republicans won control of Congress in 1994, has become a poster boy of sorts for critics of the congressional town halls, where Democratic members of Congress have often been drowned out by chorus of boos and jeers.

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On Aug. 7 MSNBC host Rachel Maddow raised questions about a potential role for the law firm — and its clients — in the protests.

“The fact that Dick Armey and FreedomWorks are standing alongside regular Joes like Rick Scott to lead the charge against health care reform could be just a coincidence. Or it could be a stark reminder of who we're dealing with here. Who is actively organizing the campaign against health care reform? Scaring real Americans with increasingly paranoid and kooky lies about health care and then providing a script for how to express that fear.”

Both Armey and Maddow are scheduled to appear on NBC's "Meet the Press" this Sunday.

Burch, the DLA Piper chairman, denied any such connections.

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