Washington According to some persons participating in the campaign, attorneys and pro-democracy activists are only beginning to establish a statewide network of experts focused on defending and safeguarding anyone who might be the target of retaliation after President-elect Donald Trump assumes office.
In a new Trump administration, the extensive program aims to provide far more than just legal aid to people who might be the focus of criminal or civil investigations.
In addition to attorneys, those constructing the infrastructure said they are hiring accountants to help those who might have their taxes audited, employment specialists to counsel those who might be fired or reassigned without reason, public relations specialists to help those whose reputations might be damaged by accusations, and even psychologists to help potential targets cope with the stress that comes with being in the crosshairs of the federal government.
According to individuals involved, the services would be provided for free and funded by donations made to charity organizations leading the initiative or online.
According to Norm Eisen, a co-founder of the State Democracy Defenders Fund, a nonprofit organization that provides pro bono legal services, aiding the effort, “it’s necessary because we’re seeing threats of the improper use of government and investigative power like we haven’t seen in modern times in our country.” Nonprofit legal groups and the pro bono bar must be prepared to offer robust assistance to those who are unfairly singled out.
The organization is still being formed, most likely as a loose conglomeration of both new and pre-existing nonprofit organizations. According to someone with knowledge of the preparations, there was a drive to establish a group that would provide security and PR support to officials, either present or past, who are suffering what they perceive to be retaliatory action.
That degree of apprehension is not typically evoked by an incoming president. However, Trump has never concealed his feelings of wrongdoing and has implied that his alleged political rivals need to pay a price. He has accused state election officials, judges, prosecutors, legislators, journalists, and governors of failing in their positions over the years.
According to individuals participating in the attempt to try to protect them, Trump will lead a massive law enforcement organization when he returns to office that has the power to arrest, bankrupt, or both those who have defied him. Even if criminals avoid penalty, avoiding such inquiries can have disastrous financial consequences. The cost of a legal defense can easily surpass six figures.
Trump mentioned the House committee that looked into the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, in a recent interview with NBC News Meet the Press, claiming that its members ought to be imprisoned.
Moderator Kristen Welker questioned Trump about if Kash Patel, his pick to lead the FBI, would look into Trump’s political rivals.
“No,” he responded, “I don’t think so.”
When Welker pressed whether he wanted to see that happen, Trump said: If they were crooked, if they did something wrong, if they have broken the law, probably. They pursued me. I done nothing wrong, but they still went after me, you know.
“We don’t know what to expect other than we listen to his promises,” stated Mark Zaid, a private national security lawyer who has been recruiting for the effort, in an interview. Additionally, he has a poor record of keeping his word, although he appears to keep his word more frequently than not when it comes to vengeance and payback.
Preemptively pardoning persons who might be under investigation is one approach for current President Joe Biden to avoid a possible investigation. Bidengave a sweeping pardon to his sonHunter, covering any offense he may have committed over the past 10 years, effectively shielding him from the incoming administration.
Two dozen individuals who have been identified by Trump or his supporters as possible subjects of an investigation were contacted by NBC News. Since they haven’t done anything illegal, about half answered they don’t want preemptive pardons. Others are uncertain or said they would accept pardons.
People close to Rod Rosenstein, a deputy attorney general in the first Trump administration, and Robert Hur, the former special counsel who declined to prosecute Biden for his handling of classified documents, said neither wants a pardon.
Two sources familiar with the matter said Jack Smith, the federal prosecutor who brought a pair of indictments against Trump after he left office in 2021, has privately made it clear he doesn t want a pardon.
Smith is confident that he has done nothing wrong and that any effort to prosecute him would result in vindication, they said. Others have said publicly that they don t want pre-emptive pardons, including former CIA Director John Brennan and Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who as a House member led the first impeachment trial against Trump.
Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., the chair of the Jan. 6 committee, has said he would accept a pardon from Biden. A spokesman for the vice chair, former Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., didn t respond to a request for comment.
If he offers it to me or other members of the committee I think I would accept it, Thompson said in a CNN interview last week.
So would Stephanie Grisham, a former Trump White House press secretary who wrote a book criticizing her former boss and spoke at the Democratic National Convention in August.
Asked about a potential pardon from Biden, Grisham wrote in an email message: I have not heard that he is considering one for me, but I would not turn it down.
A former national security official said he was sufficiently worried about Trump s return to power that he had been seriously thinking about leaving the country.
After he visited a foreign country and checked homes to rent, he decided on reflection I didn t want to do that because that gives the appearance of guilt.
If Trump appointees were to launch groundless investigations merely to avenge him, they d face serious obstacles, legal experts said.
Career FBI agents know they would be violating their own policies if they focused their fearsome investigatory powers on targets without good reasons. If they did so knowingly and for corrupt reasons, they could be committing a crime.
Justice Department lawyers who participated in baseless criminal probes could face discipline by the department s Office of Professional Responsibility and by their state bar associations.
A network of legal allies will most likely not deter the Trump administration from targeting critics, but it could make it harder for the future White House, said Rosa Brooks, a former Defense Department official who is now at Georgetown Law.
To whatever extent Trump and his inner circle may think these are going to be easy targets, I don t think they will be easy targets, because there will be resources in place to ensure that they have really robust legal defenses against politically motivated investigations and prosecutions, Brooks said.
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