Why conservative lawyers 'cannot defensibly assist' Trump in efforts to subvert election: legal expert

13 October 2024

With less than 30 days until the presidential election, Donald Trump is expected to take legal action in the case he's defeated by Kamala Harris — as he did in 2020.

In an op-ed published by The New York Times Sunday, University of Pennsylvania law professor Kate Shaw submits that although Trump and his allies' "efforts failed spectacularly" in courts across the country, the former president "will most likely be, if anything, more determined to win at all costs — driven not only by desire for power but also by fear of what might come of the pending legal cases against him."

The MAGA hopeful "has a right to competent and effective counsel, and it is important that he be well represented," Shaw writes. "But the right to counsel guaranteed by our Constitution does not extend to efforts to subvert that very document."

The host of the Supreme Court podcast "Strict Scrutiny," notes the "growing evidence that prominent conservative lawyers understand the dangers Mr. Trump poses," such as ex-George W. Bush attorney general Alberto Gonzales, as well as "a group of conservative lawyers, including the former Trump attorney Ty Cobb, sent Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia a letter last month urging him to investigate and potentially remove highly partisan members of the state’s election board."

Furthermore, Shaw emphasizes that many lawyers are well aware of the impact representing Trump could have on their reputations.

"Lawyers cannot, consistent with their ethical obligations, participate in devising litigation that is retrofitted to support the position Mr. Trump seems to hold — that the only 'real' Americans are those who cast their ballots for him and that those who vote against him are by definition engaging in fraud," the law professor writes.

"Attorneys at prominent law firms should already know that they cannot defensibly assist in Mr. Trump’s specious efforts," Shaw adds, noting that, "If they waver, their corporate clients should make clear they do not want their attorneys associating with a candidate who has already told us he will not respect the will of the voters if they do not choose him."

Shaw's full op-ed is available at this link (subscription required).

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