(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . The treachery of Trump's lawyers warrants far more than an apology to the citizens of Georgia [1] [] Date: 2023-10-23 Both Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro have now pled guilty to crimes in apparent furtherance of a conspiratorial effort led and inspired by Donald Trump to overturn a free and fair election in the United States. Because their crimes relate specifically to actions conducted in the state of Georgia, both Powell and Chesebro have been required as part of their plea deals to write “letters of apology” to the citizens of Georgia, in addition to fulfilling their other obligations under the prosecutor’s plea arrangement. (On Tuesday, attorney Jenna Ellis joined the list of those attorneys indicted in the Georgia case who have reached a plea deal with prosecutors, similarly agreeing to pen an “apology letter.”) It is reasonable to assume that others indicted in the criminal cases still underway in Georgia and the District of Columbia may also accept plea deals at some point. Several of those individuals, such as John Eastman, Rudolph Giuliani, and Jeffrey Clark are also attorneys. As many have pointed out, the seeming leniency of the plea deals accepted by Powell, Chesebro, and now Ellis reflect the practical strategy of Fulton County District attorney Fani Willis to obtain inculpatory testimony against Trump and the other alleged conspirators more central to the overall scheme. From a prosecution standpoint, that is completely logical, and in fact, it is a standard practice for prosecutors to obtain criminal convictions, particularly in RICO cases. However, given the nature of the alleged conspiracy involving these specific individuals, an apology directed simply to the citizens of Georgia is, quite frankly, woefully inadequate under the circumstances. RELATED STORY: Jenna Ellis becomes the latest Trump lawyer to plead guilty over efforts to overturn 2020 election Evidently, Powell has only seen fit to apologize for her illegal actions in Coffee County, Georgia. Chesebro will likely follow suit. This was all that was required by District Attorney Willis, who obviously must represent the citizens of her state. However, the conspiracy alleged here was, by all appearances, intended to effect a national result. Trump had no interest in the specifics of Georgia's election processes unless he could use them as a basis to cast doubt upon (or invalidate) the entire election. Likewise, Powell and Chesebro knew the overarching, national implications of what they were seeking to do was not limited to Coffee County, Georgia. Because these lawyer defendants caused real national harm to the country through their actions, for any apology to be adequate, it must be equally national in its scope. They should be apologizing to the entire country, not just to the Georgia voters they planned to disenfranchise. Why bring up such a seemingly minor aspect of these plea deals as an "apology letter”? Because like Trump (in his capacity as president at the time these acts were perpetrated), attorneys Powell, Chesebro, and the others had a responsibility that went far beyond their job titles. By the nature of their profession as attorneys, they also had an implicit duty to this country, specifically the democratic institutions that made their practice of the law possible. This is not some idyllic, aspirational goal; it is explicitly spelled out in the preamble to The American Bar Association’s’ Model Rules of Professional Conduct, which states, “[A] lawyer should further the public's understanding of and confidence in the rule of law and the justice system because legal institutions in a constitutional democracy depend on popular participation and support to maintain their authority.” This statement reflects the reality that those granted the privilege of wielding the formidable power of law assume a responsibility not to distort it, abuse or falsify it, or seek clever ways to circumvent it in a manner that undermines the trust of the public. All of a lawyer’s work occurs within an institutional framework, sustained by the integrity of our constitutional and democratic institutions that allow the practice of law to exist in the first place. That is one reason why every state imposes some version of an ethical code. Actions by lawyers that violate this responsibility to the public trust are even more egregious when the nation's constitutionally sanctioned institutions—such as representative elections—are corrupted. Powell and Chesebro know this full well, as do all of the other lawyer defendants. It’s not only a codified principle in the Model Rules, it’s also common sense. By seeking to spin a patently frivolous narrative of election fraud in pursuing Trump’s scheme, these attorneys not only likely violated ethical standards common to their profession but also did it in full awareness of the national implications. Their attempt to overturn a legitimate election was an institutional violation of unprecedented scale. It also had unparalleled consequences: Three years later, six in 10 of all Republicans still believe the 2020 election was illegitimate. That is the real, far-reaching harm that Trump and his hired team of election denialist lawyers perpetrated. Mother Jones’ Dan Friedman recognizes this: Powell, a Texas-based attorney who first gained national attention representing Trump’s former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, has spun elaborate, bogus conspiracy theories about the 2020 election that involve a lot more people than Georgia’s 11 million residents. Her lies implicated numerous states, countries, institutions, and people. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/10/23/2201065/-The-treachery-of-Trump-s-lawyers-warrants-far-more-than-an-apology-only-to-Georgia-s-citizens?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=top_news_slot_4&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/