Dear John,
We all share deep distress over the recent onslaught of attacks on the rule of law and democracy. In response, LDAD has been engaged in numerous efforts to protect our democratic institutions.
Below are two updates from this past week. We will have much more to report soon regarding other activities.
In seeking to upend all aspects of the federal government at a frenzied pace, the new administration has opened itself to scores of lawsuits alleging that many of these actions have violated the law. One of these cases relates to the Department of Justice’s decision to dismiss federal corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
The circumstances, widely covered by the media, resulted in the resignation of at least 7 prosecutors who refused to obey the directive of Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove to file a formal request to drop the charges. The motion to dismiss is currently pending in a Federal District Court in New York City.
In this case, Lawyers Defending American Democracy, State Democracy Defenders Fund, and a group of legal and ethics experts have filed a motion to submit an amicus brief (that was submitted along with the motion). The filing asks the federal judge to consider Emil Bove’s conduct under the Rules of Professional Conduct and the Principles of Federal Prosecution.
You can read both the Motion and the Amicus brief here.
In an article for the Contrarian, LDAD Board member Walter H. White, Jr. offers a thoughtful analysis of how the world order has changed in the past several weeks: America is at its weakest since the Civil War.
Alliances that have served this country – indeed much of the world – for more than eighty years have been cast aside by a president seemingly intent on siding with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who brutally attacked Ukraine three years ago. When President Volodymyr Zelensky was ambushed in the Oval Office, every government official in that room knew better, including Secretary of State Rubio. The silence of our leaders was shameful. It was, instead, our once steadfast allies who immediately spoke out in defense of democracy and the Ukrainian President, and against the aggressor now being protected by our government.
Thank you for your dedication to maintaining our democracy. Please support our efforts by donating to LDAD and by sharing this email with your networks. We can now also accept donations of stock or other securities. Learn more here.
Lawyers Defending American Democracy
