As America prepares to inaugurate a lawyer president, it's time to reflect on the 32 lawyers - all men - among the shameful cohort of 126 House Republicans who supported the Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (under indictment himself) in his failed attempt to overthrow the election in the supreme court.
The AGs of the four defendant states, all with Republican legislatures, forcefully responded to the disgraceful supreme court litigation brought by the attorneys general in 18 other Republican states.
Above the Law catalogued the craziest things in the Texas AG's nutty lawsuit, where even fake states filed a brief. All the motions from 26 other parties were dismissed as moot when the Texas motion was denied. The Post identified the various villains who pleaded.
Ultimately, nearly 90 judges rejected the claims of election fraud brought by Trump and his followers. Nevertheless, the litigation strategies and public statements of Trump's lawyers exposed the collateral damage his refusal to acknowledge the rule of law has caused to the legal profession itself.
In many of the federal cases (certainly, the supreme court stunt), Republican lawyers may have violated Rule 11, Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. That's the rule that forbids frivolous proceedings and requires attorneys to shun litigation without legal foundation or valid evidence.
The fact that the chief legal officers of 18 states were prepared to risk violating Rule 11 is a professional scandal. Sanctions and even disbarment should be an option.
Civilian lawyers behind the Republicans' spurious and bad-faith court actions in multiple jurisdictions should also face disciplinary action. One such action was a last-hour lawsuit against the Vice President in his capacity of Senate President.
Gohmert: among the dimmest of Republican representatives
It was brought by Representative Louis Gohmert, who's often described as "the most offensive and ignorant person in congress". The case was speedily dismissed by a Trump-appointed judge.
Finally, Trump voters in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, and Arizona sued Vice President Pence; both houses of Congress; and even the Electoral College itself, seeking to preliminarily enjoin the counting of electors certified by their states. Their motion was denied in scathing terms by the DC judge, who added:
"… at the conclusion of this litigation, the Court will determine whether to issue an order to show cause why this matter should not be referred to its Committee on Grievances for potential discipline of Plaintiffs' counsel."
READ THE REST OF FITCH HERE.
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