I asked my lawyer-friends:
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 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.
Some lawyer-friends tell me Trump's lawyers broke ethical rules and black-letter laws. His lawyers will get disbarred and they will go to prison. That is the majority view of lawyers who responded to me. They predict Trump's co-conspirator lawyers will be a warning and deterrence. But there's another view, and I cite it so Democratic readers will not become over-confident.
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.
In disbarment hearings distinctions of good faith and bad faith will be decided by attorneys protecting the reputation of their profession. Here are charges against Chesbro. Trump attorneys may well escape conviction of crimes, but their reputations and careers will be intact even if disbarred. They will be in demand as lobbyists, as advisors to Republicans, and as media celebrities. Remember, Bill Clinton was disbarred; his life did not end; he is still popular, engaged, and in demand. The fate of Trump's attorneys may be an example of how to succeed. Stick to your story. MAGA world will believe you and reward you.
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.
"Let the law be enforced -- on everyone, rich and poor, Black and White, Republican and Democrat, and especially on lawyers."
I could not agree more.
Even though Fīat iūstitia ruat cælum gets a bad rap in Seneca's story about Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso, that story is really about an injustice carried out through perverted logic.
Let justice be done, though Hunter (and Jared, and Donald and Donald, and Eric, and Lindsey et al), may fall.
In related news, the IRS is going after tax cheats, *and* answering the phones faster. Let justice be done.
It's Good News Week. Cue music.