At a time when so many people worry about the resiliency of American democracy, yesterdays' testimony by Cassidy Hutchinson is a reminder that there are still courageous public servants willing to stand up for what is right and to abide by their oaths to the Constitution.
Lawyers have a special obligation to live up to that oath.
One take-away from the January 6 hearings is the number of lawyers in the Trump Administration who refused to go along with the attempt to overturn the 2020 election, and alerted participants in the brazen scheme to the potential criminal charges stemming from their plans. Fortunately for the country, a number of lawyers in the White House Counsel's office and the Department of Justice held the line, held true to their oaths, and kept faith with the rule of law. We know this only because some of them have chosen to cooperate with the January 6 investigation.
But not all of them.
Former White House Counsel Pat Cipollone, who by all accounts did his best to resist those seeking to overturn the election, has refused to testify or cooperate with the January 6 committee. Mr. Cipollone is not prevented from cooperating by any attorney-client privilege, since his responsibility was to protect the legitimate institutional interests of the Office of the President, and not Donald Trump or his campaign. He reportedly attempted to do so according to reports of his behavior that day, including from Cassidy Hutchinson.
While Mr. Cipollone may choose to mount technical ethical or institutional arguments justifying his lack of cooperation, his resistance fails to meet the higher duty that he owes to the country and to his oath to serve and support the Constitution.
That other government lawyers – such as Jeffrey Rosen, Richard Donoghue, Steve Engel, and Eric Herschmann – have testified under oath as to their personal knowledge of efforts to overturn the election only brightens the spotlight on Mr. Cipollone. It is increasingly clear that he may be a crucial witness to multiple crimes, and we think his duty to the American people -- who, after all, were his real clients -- dictates that he should come forward and testify, immediately.
We call on Mr. Cipollone to live up to the example of Cassidy Hutchinson and others who have come forward. Tell investigators, and the American people, the truth about what happened in the days leading up to January 6.
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With gratitude,
Scott Harshbarger
Co-founder, Lawyers Defending American Democracy
Two-time Attorney General of Massachusetts
Former National President, Common Cause
