How the left seeks to ruin Trump’s lawyers, Sixth Amendment be damned

The Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution clearly outlines the rights of those accused of crimes, including the right to legal counsel. Traditionally, this right has enjoyed universal support across the political spectrum. However, the landscape changed dramatically after the election of President Donald Trump and the left losing its collective mind.

A “legal watchdog group” now discourages lawyers from representing Trump, threatening retribution against those who choose to defend him. This is gangster government stuff.

Efforts to deny legal counsel to those out of favor with those in power set a dangerous precedent. Criminalizing those who provide that counsel is even worse.

To clarify, the warning specifically targets lawyers representing Trump in election fraud challenges. However, the history of attacks on Trump’s attorneys suggests it also serves as a warning to any lawyer who might represent him in future criminal defense cases.

According to the New York Times:

After the 2020 election, legal watchdogs, outraged at some of their colleagues, filed scores of ethics complaints against lawyers who used their skills in questionable ways to help former President Donald J. Trump stay in power. And in the past few years, the groups have had some notable successes, securing judgments that have led to pro-Trump lawyers like John Eastman and Rudolph W. Giuliani having their law licenses deactivated.

Eastman and Giuliani lost their law licenses for a very simple reason: They represented Trump. Their disbarment was a warning to any other lawyer who would represent Trump in the future.

The Times story highlights a group called the 65 Project as one taking “a more proactive approach” against any lawyers who would dare help Trump ensure that the presidential election is above board. The group last month began running ads in “legal journals published in swing states, reminding lawyers that they are ethically barred from bringing false claims on behalf of any client.”

“Don’t risk your law license by joining an effort to subvert democracy,” one ad reads. “We — and the public — are watching.”

The 65 Project has issued a specific warning: Any lawyer who counsels Trump in challenging election results will face personal repercussions that could threaten his or her professional livelihood.

But think back to the 2000 “hanging chad” election. Both George W. Bush and Al Gore had legal teams acting on their behalf as Gore attempted to overturn Bush’s Florida victory, which ultimately decided the presidential election. By the logic of the 65 Project, all lawyers who represented Gore could have faced disbarment for attempting to deny Bush his lawful election win.

Notably, while Gore and his team of “election-denying” attorneys sought to “subvert democracy” after the 2000 election, no one on the right argued that Gore’s lawyers should be disbarred for representing him. Today, however, Democrats and the left seek to professionally and financially ruin any lawyer who accepts employment with Donald Trump.

And the threat isn’t limited to lawyers who would represent Trump in election fraud cases. The left also wants to punish those willing to defend Trump against criminal charges.

Attorney Todd Blanche had the audacity to provide defense counsel for Donald Trump in one of the criminal cases Trump is facing. This is clear Sixth Amendment territory — the accused has the right to counsel.

But Democrats and the media have attempted to destroy Blanche for daring to represent Trump, accusing him of “ethical violations” and calling for punishment. And what was Blanche’s offense? He nodded his head in court.

Seriously.

“Todd Blanche nodding his head to Trump’s statement that he can’t testify because of the gag order is a very serious ethical violation in the middle of a criminal trial,” attorney Ron Filipkowski, who edits the left-wing MeidasTouch blog, wrote on X. Judge Juan Merchan “must absolutely grill Blanche and get to the bottom of why he lied to his client about his rights.”

Efforts to deny legal counsel to those out of favor with those in power set a dangerous precedent. Criminalizing those who provide that counsel is even worse. The left should consider the consequences of this precedent carefully, as a two-tier justice system where only one side is entitled to legal counsel cannot exist in this country.