The 65 Project
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| Founder | David Brock, 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 is an American dark money[1][2] legal activism[3] campaign to “disbar and discredit”[4] attorneys who “worked on Donald Trump’s post-election lawsuits.”[1] The group is advised by David Brock, the founder of opposition research groups Media Matters for America and American Bridge 21st Century, 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."[1][5] In the same 2022 interview with Axios, Brock emphasized “threatening the livelihoods” and reputations [2] of the attorneys.
The 65 Project’s Managing Director is Michael Teter,[3] an attorney suing Fox News as counsel for Ray Epps.[6] 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.”[2]
Methods
[edit]In 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.[2] These complaints have included high-profile attorneys, such as John Eastman and Cleta Mitchell.[2] The 65 Project has also stated its interest in changing lawyers’s professional rules.[3]
Reactions
[edit]Responses to the 65 Project have been mixed. Legal scholar Alan Dershowitz compared the results of its work as similar to the “ridicule” faced by suspected communists during McCarthyism[7] and Texas Congressman Lance Gooden described the 65 Project as “a far-left activist group of lawyers actively engaging in partisan tactics.”[8] The 65 Project describes itself as “bipartisan,” and “defending democracy and the rule of law.”[9]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Durkee, Alison. "Campaign Targets 111 Trump-Linked Election Lawyers. Here's Some Already Facing A Backlash". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-09-19.
- ^ a b c d e Markay, Lachlan; Swan, Jonathan (March 7, 2022). "Scoop: High-powered group targets Trump lawyers' livelihoods". Axios (website). Retrieved September 19, 2024.
- ^ a b c Thomas, David (October 12, 2022). "Lawyer group says Trump attorney broke ethics rules in fake elector plan". Reuters.
- ^ Beals, Monique (2022-03-07). "Group trying to disbar lawyers who worked on Trump's post-election lawsuits". The Hill. Retrieved 2024-09-19.
- ^ Rogers, Zachary (2022-03-07). "Democrat-tied dark-money group seeks to disbar over 100 Trump-linked lawyers, says report". ABC KATV. Retrieved 2024-09-19.
- ^ "Former Trump supporter sues Fox News over Jan. 6 conspiracy theory". PBS News. 2023-07-14. Retrieved 2024-09-19.
- ^ 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. 2024-01-24. Retrieved 2024-09-19.
- ^ "65 Project website". 65 Project. September 19, 2024.