The 65 Project is a legal activism campaign[1] seeking to "disbar and discredit"[2] Trump-affiliated[3] lawyers who worked on lawsuits supporting Trump's baseless attempt to overturn the 2020 election.[4] It has been described as a "dark money group."[2][4][5][6]
!["The 65 Project" [Dark background, squared serious font, gavel silhouette cutout of bottom curve of "5" in "65"]](/wiki/File:65_Project_dark_wide_2024.webp) | |
| Founder | Melissa Moss |
|---|---|
| Origins | Media and legal activist network with Facts First USA |
| Methods | Disciplinary Bar Complaints, Negative Publicity |
Key people | Michael Teter |
Parent organization | Law Works |
| Website | The65project.com |
The 65 Project's Managing Director is Michael Teter,[7] an attorney suing Fox News as counsel for Ray Epps.[8] The project was also devised by Democratic political consultant Melissa Moss, a former senior Clinton administration official, and operates through a not-for-profit named "Law Works."[4]
Methods
editIn line with the group's mission, the 65 Project files ethics complaints with bar associations, some of which have been dismissed for lack of evidence.[4] These complaints have included high-profile figures, such as Ted Cruz, John Eastman and Cleta Mitchell.[4] The 65 Project has also stated its interest in changing lawyers's professional rules, including placing limits on lawyers's public statements about elections.[7][9]
The group stated in early 2022 it planned to take action against 111 attorneys.[10] As of July 2023, all but one of the 65 Project's concluded complaints had been dismissed or found no punishable offense.[11] In 2022, attorneys pursued by the group said they had received additional attempts after previous complaints were unsuccessful.[12]
The group is advised by David Brock, who described the idea of the 65 Project as bringing attorney bar complaints, and to "shame them and make them toxic in their communities and in their firms".[5][2] In the same 2022 interview with Axios, Brock said the project would target the livelihood and reputations of the attorneys.[4]
Reactions
editConcerns over the methods of The 65 Project have been raised since at least March 2022.[13] Bruce Green, the director of Fordham Law School's Louis Stein Center for Law and Ethics, emphasized that the 65 Project's complaints were "designed to embarrass" lawyers, discouraging political work "even if they're playing by the rules."[13] CNN noted that the investigations sought by the 65 Project "unfold in secret" until claims are found meritorious in most states, but that, as Green raised concerns about, the 65 Projects "heavily publicized allegations" would harm lawyers reputations before claims were reviewed.[13] Complaints filed by The 65 Project have been dismissed since the groups first public announcements, beginning with Georgia attorney Brad Carver,[4] but has continued publish adversarial media targeting lawyers's professional communities, planning to run advertisements in law journals in late fall 2024.[14]
Alan Dershowitz, whose sanctions for "frivolous" election litigation[15] followed complaints by Marc Elias's firm,[16] compared the results of its work as similar to the "ridicule" faced by suspected communists during McCarthyism[17] and Texas Congressman Lance Gooden described the 65 Project as "a far-left activist group of lawyers actively engaging in partisan tactics."[18] The 65 Project describes itself as "bipartisan," and "defending democracy and the rule of law."[19] The 65 Project elicited criticism from ethics complaint respondent Cleta Mitchell for not also pursuing attorney Marc Elias[2] who had challenged the Iowa election results of Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks previously.[20]
References
edit- ^ Thomas, David (October 12, 2022). "Lawyer group says Trump attorney broke ethics rules in fake elector plan". Reuters. Retrieved September 20, 2024.
- ^ a b c d Rogers, Zachary (March 7, 2022). "Democrat-tied dark-money group seeks to disbar over 100 Trump-linked lawyers, says report". ABC KATV. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
- ^ Thomas, David (July 20, 2022). "Group lodges more ethics complaints against Trump-affiliated lawyers". Reuters. Retrieved September 20, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g Markay, Lachlan; Swan, Jonathan (March 7, 2022). "Scoop: High-powered group targets Trump lawyers' livelihoods". Axios (website). Retrieved September 19, 2024.
- ^ a b Durkee, Alison. "Campaign Targets 111 Trump-Linked Election Lawyers. Here's Some Already Facing A Backlash". Forbes. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
- ^ Beals, Monique (March 7, 2022). "Group trying to disbar lawyers who worked on Trump's post-election lawsuits". The Hill. Retrieved September 20, 2024.
- ^ a b Thomas, David (October 12, 2022). "Lawyer group says Trump attorney broke ethics rules in fake elector plan". Reuters.
- ^ "Former Trump supporter sues Fox News over Jan. 6 conspiracy theory". PBS News. July 14, 2023. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
- ^ Skolnick, Sam (October 12, 2022). "Trump Lawyer Targeting Push Opens New Front With Bar Rules". Bloomberg Law.
- ^ Cassens-Weiss, Debra (March 9, 2022). "Sidney Powell faces ethics charges over election litigation; group seeks discipline against other lawyers". Journal of the American Bar Association. Retrieved September 20, 2024.
- ^ Khardori, Ankush (July 26, 2023). "Trump's 'Elite Strike Force Team' Falls on Hard Times". Politico. Retrieved September 20, 2024.
- ^ Sneed, Tierney (March 10, 2022). "Inside the effort to disbar attorneys who backed bogus election lawsuits | CNN Politics". CNN. Retrieved September 20, 2024.
- ^ a b c Sneed, Tierney (March 10, 2022). "Inside the effort to disbar attorneys who backed bogus election lawsuits". CNN. Retrieved September 20, 2024.
- ^ Feuer, Alan (September 19, 2024). "Legal Watchdog Group Warns Pro-Trump Lawyers Against Subverting Democracy in November". New York Times.
- ^ Robertson, Nick (July 15, 2023). "Kari Lake's team ordered to pay more than $122K in sanctions over Maricopa lawsuit". The Hill. Retrieved September 20, 2024.
- ^ "'Enough Really Is Enough': Arizona Governor-Elect Katie Hobbs Seeks More Than $500,000 in Sanctions for Kari Lake and Her Lawyers". Law & Crime. December 26, 2022. Retrieved September 21, 2024.
- ^ Klayman, Larry (April 14, 2023). "Petition For A Writ Of Mandamus To The District Of Columbia Court Of Appeals In The Matter Of Larry E. Klayman" (PDF). Supreme Court Docket: 2.
- ^ "RELEASE: Congressman Lance Gooden Calls for Immediate Action Against the Partisan Legal Tactics of the 65 Project". Congressman Lance Gooden. January 24, 2024. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
- ^ "65 Project website". 65 Project. September 19, 2024.
- ^ Grayer, Annie (March 22, 2021). "House Democrats face backlash on both sides for investigating Iowa House race won by a Republican | CNN Politics". CNN. Retrieved September 21, 2024.