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Areas of Interest
March 8th, 2022
Jan. 6 Panel has Tough Case to Make on Trump Criminal Conspiracy
Ethics & Professional Responsibility Litigation Partner John B. Harris was quoted in the article, “Jan. 6 Panel has Tough Case to Make on Trump Criminal Conspiracy” published by The Hill. The article discusses the Jan. 6 riot investigation committee’s investigation into the attack on the capital and the committee’s newest claim that Trump engaged in a criminal conspiracy in his effort to overturn the 2020 election results. The filing by the committee looks to persuade a federal judge that it should be allowed to obtain Trump campaign attorney John Eastman’s communications. John B. Harris explains details could waver in a larger case against Trump because the department of justice would need to show he had intent to defraud as he carried out his plans. John says, “Here I think the problem is that if Trump's defense may be that he truly, truly believed these measures might be justifiable and decided to believe one set of advisers or another. The Government can bang on the table a lot say, ‘Well, you had more — and more credible — advisers on the side that said you need to stop this.’ And you had advisers using very strong language that it's illegal and unsupportable,” adding, “But if he had his own mindset that something terrible happened here … that creates a bit of a swamp and some murkiness that the government will have to deal with at a trial to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Trump did this knowing that it was all a sham.”
John, who specializes in attorney-client privilege, says that the question of whether the crime-fraud exception applies is not clear-cut. “To me, the tricky part of this is that Eastman apparently believed that as an academic theory what he was proposing about Pence or the electors was plausible. If that was something that he believed was a fair extension or interpretation of the law, that gives him some protection. It wouldn't automatically be a crime or fraud for him to propound an academic theory even if he believed that it was certain to lose.”
Read the full article here.
Other Quoted
A Federal Judge Ordered OpenAI to Stop Deleting Data
Daniel M. Goldberg is quoted in an Adweek article, which reported that a federal judge has ordered OpenAI to stop deleting output data from ChatGPT. This was part of The New York Times lawsuit, alleging OpenAI engaged in copyright infringement “by using ‘millions’ of articles published by the newspaper to train its AI model, which now directly competes with the Times’ content as a result.” The judge’s order seeks to preserve evidence in the Times’ case. Mr. Goldberg addressed mulitple implications of the order, which requires OpenAI to hold more data than they normally would. "That could make OpenAI more susceptible to security breaches, or shake the trust of consumers who expected their chatbot records to be deleted. There are also potential implications regarding energy use, storage and environmental impact that the judge may not have considered when making the order, Goldberg said." He also noted the order would trigger people's concerns about what it means for working with large tecnology providers.
May 21 2025
Democrat LaMonica McIver Charged: What Punishment Could She Face?
Jeremy Bates is quoted in a Newsweek article on New Jersey U.S. representative LaMonica McIver’s arrest by the Trump administration. She’s accused of allegedly assaulting, resisting, and impeding law enforcement officers in a protest against the arrest of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka. Amidst the chaos, Ms. McIver appears to have elbowed an officer. Mr. Bates told Newsweek,“‘Ethical prosecutors refrain from bringing charges that are not supported by probable cause. Here, the Mayor of Newark was charged with trespassing. Days later, DOJ dropped that charge. These facts do not inspire confidence.’” Mr. Bates also stated, “‘Before charging anyone with a federal crime, a DOJ lawyer should ask, would this prosecution be in the interest of my true client, the American people? Or is it an act of presidential malice?’” View Article
May 20 2025
In Suits and Ties, Lawyers Protest Trump’s Attacks on the Legal System
The New York Times quotes Ronald C. Minkoff in its coverage of the May 1, 2025 National Law Day of Action, in which approximately 1,500 people in Manhattan protested the U.S. president’s threats against judges, lawyers and the rule of law. Legal groups organized attorneys across the country to show their opposition to the Trump administration’s defiance of court orders, targeting of law firms, and wrongful deportations. The lawyers reaffirmed their promise to uphold the rule of law and recited the Pledge of Allegiance. Foley Square protest organizers requested that attorneys dress in suits—as if going to court and carry pocket Constitutions. “‘We want people to see that we treat this issue with utmost respect,’ said Ronald C. Minkoff, a defense lawyer and an organizer. ‘This is like the courtroom to us.’” View Article
May 1 2025
