If Trump is returned to office, will his new lawyers stop Trump from illegal acts in a second term? Surely the next set of lawyers will be deterred by the trouble faced by Sidney Powell, Rudolf Giuliani, John Eastman, and Kenneth Chesbro and others.
Won't they?
Maybe. Maybe not.
Lawyers disagree. Best not be overconfident that things will work out.
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| Kenneth Chesbro |
Most lawyers wrote me saying that Trump lawyers operated in bad faith. There was no legal basis for Trump lawyers to claim the Vice President could throw out unwelcome votes.
“A lawyer shall not bring or defend a proceeding, or assert or controvert an issue therein, unless there is a basis in law and fact for doing so."
My lawyer friends tell me the law demands a lawyer not “assist a client in conduct that the lawyer knows is illegal or fraudulent." There is overwhelming evidence that Trump's lawyers assisted Trump's scheme for signers of the GOP slates of electors to swear false statements and representations that they were "duly elected." That made Trump's lawyers active participants in an illegal conspiracy, and they did illegal acts to carry out their part in it. Yes, they are in real trouble. Criminal trouble.
The word of caution comes from the arena of "qualified immunity." Trump's crimes and the actions of his lawyers are "unprecedented," a term we hear repeatedly. That is important. The qualified immunity standard is that law enforcement officers cannot be sued or prosecuted unless they knew their behavior was forbidden. There must be close precedent. The law must be "clearly established." But the 2020 election mess is all new.
This word of caution does not come to me from Trump-oriented conservatives. Liberal lawyers observe with frustration cases of law enforcement officers acting in bad faith, doing things that were dangerous, immoral, and illegal. Yet they get away with it. How could Trump's lawyers have known for sure what was Constitutional here? Maybe "alternative" electoral votes would get serious consideration by the Vice President. This is uncharted territory. Trump was the chief law enforcement officer. His attorneys acting as his agents to enforce election law might enjoy the same qualified immunity as police officers. The Supreme Court could dismiss these cases on those grounds.
But the cases may not get that far. The lawyers in trouble are angling for a favorable jury pool. People in Trump/MAGA world are true believers. In MAGA world there remains profound question about whether the 2020 election was irregular in some way. After all, Trump is adamant. Lack of evidence shows how well fraud can be hidden, not that it does not exist. It is plausible to think one or more members of the jury will have reasonable doubts. A hung jury would be enough to exonerate the lawyers and frame their prosecution as illegitimate. Anything less than a conviction will be a legal and political disaster for Democrats.
I watch the prosecution of Trump's attorneys with pleasure. Let the law be enforced -- on everyone, rich and poor, Black and White, Republican and Democrat, and especially on lawyers. But I am not confident things will work out as I hope. I don't have a lot of confidence that there is equal justice for politically powerful wealthy white-collar criminals who can afford excellent legal representation and who have ample access to shaping public opinion.
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10 comments:
Number 1 observation: bad outcomes occur to those who or what are connected to Trump. He made casinos go bankrupt. It would be hard to enter any relationship with Trump without realizing perilous water is near. Number 2 observation: lawyers are not well thought of unless you need them for your own needs, [sorry lawyers- I have good friends who are lawyers, but I’m just saying.] Will lawyers police themselves through the court? Only as much as they have to the extent that it is best for themselves as a profession.
The U.S. prides itself on being a nation of laws with “justice for all,” but in fact what we have is a two-tiered justice system starkly divided along economic lines. Those on the lower rungs of the economic ladder can be given severe sentences, sometimes for relatively petty crimes, while white collar criminals who steal millions go scot-free.
An example of that is HCA/Columbia, which committed the largest health care fraud in Medicare history. The corporation was found guilty of 14 felonies. Two executives were convicted, but their convictions were overturned on appeal. A third was acquitted and a fourth had a hung jury. The CEO at the time of the fraud, Rick Scott, wasn’t even indicted and went on to become the governor of Florida. He’s not one of its senators.
In a just world, the ringleaders of the insurrection would be joining the chumps they incited into attacking the Capitol, but don’t hold your breath. Just because something is obviously wrong doesn’t mean it’s illegal – if you have enough money. That’s why we have so many lawyer jokes. What can you do but laugh?
One other question, what can President Biden do to improve his poll numbers? Any suggestions?
Correction: What I meant to say, of course, is the Rick Scott is NOW one of Florida's senators.
Bill Clinton was suspended from practicing law in Arkansas, fined for contempt of court, etc....You can look it up. Lying corrodes the court system; few other things are as corrosive. Trump's lawyers are no worse and no better. Bill Clinton used to socialize with Donald Trump. The other day, you posted about Rich North of Richmond; that song refers obliquely to Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell (the line about minors on an island), and both former presidents socialized with them. It didn't occur to any of the Republican debaters, when asked about the song, to point out Mr. Epstein's and Ms. Maxwell's association with the Republican front runner; I would have, though. Anyhow, give me a break if you think what happened to former president Clinton or what has happened or will happen to former president Trump and his lawyers will deter any high powered lawyers or both lawyer- and nonlawyer politicians from participating in corruption in the future. Tougher sanctions might deter them; good luck if you expect any sanctions to be tough enough. A better use of your time might be to try to imagine the form that future corruption will take. This country is in trouble, folks; and it started decades before 2016. Yet we vote for these people and their fellow travelers. And don't claim to support gun control and argue that Hunter Biden deserves a break from full application of gun-control laws.
I urge "Anonymous" to read my blogs posts generally, and this one all the way to the end. Anonymous has a whining I'm-so-aggrieved-tone, but my post conclusion agrees with his comment on my post. May I suggest that before Anonymous suggest better uses of my time he uses the time he or she has to read the post being commented upon. I cited Bill Clinton. I have posted agreeing that Hunter Biden should face whatever equal justice anyone else faces for being an addict signing a document saying he isn't one. I hope the fake electors and Hunter Biden share the same cell block if and when they are found guilty.
Anonymous posts have far less impact and credibility than signed ones.
If anonymous has a suggestion for a good use of time, I urge him or her to use well-spent time to write a Guest Post and to be accountable for his or her own words.
Anonymous here. I accept your criticism about not reading carefully, in general. However, Bill Clinton wasn't disbarred. He accepted a suspension in order to avoid risking disbarment. He could apply for reinstatement to the Arkansas bar if he wished to do so. He is truly "Slick Willy." I voted for him; I'm not proud of that. That's why I sign as "Anonymous."
..."attorneys protecting the reputation of their profession."
This is the key point in this discussion and the fundamental question we are facing.
It would seem the justice system has been politicized to the point where there is now much of the same divisiveness and corruption we see in the larger society. By it's nature the law is a self-policing institution; laws exist to maintain order which demands that people behave at least ethically and honestly. These values are above political views and if they are lost the profession loses its credibility.
Republicans corrupted the Supreme Court, a corrupted President advanced corrupted candidates lied at their confirmation hearings, and the society is experiencing the result. All these cases will ultimately be decided by them, and so we will find out just how deep the corruption goes.
Anonymous, since at this point there’s no AI checking people's ID at this site, we are all anonymous, for all practical purposes. However, we can at least tell each other apart, except for the unknown number of contributors calling themselves “anonymous”.
Do yourself, and all of us, a favor: change to anonymous 1, anonymous 2023, anonymous person, or something. PLEEZ?
Recall that posts addressing another's comments aren't allowed, per Peter's policy.
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