Donald Trump’s attorneys should not be surprised that after they worked their hearts out for him, he snipped their connection to him and set them free. There was just one problem. They are now in big trouble, even current White House favorite Sidney Powell of Dallas.
Two current presidents of the Arizona State Bar and five additional attorneys came together to file an ethics complaint. After the presidential election, they listed 21 different attorneys who took Donald Trump’s case, along with the Arizona Republican Party, according to 12 News in Arizona.
The Lawyer Regulation Division of the State Bar of Arizona alleged that these 21 attorneys knowingly took 10 “utterly meritless cases” against elections officials. In the eight-page letter, it said:
‘Confidence in the legal system is seriously eroded when attorneys treat lawsuits as a platform for broadcasting gossip and innuendo utterly devoid of factual proof, as a political stunt.’
The complaint required that the State Bar of Arizona perform an official investigation. The letter indicated that they wanted “appropriate action be taken.”
Should the ethics violation be sustained, there would be several ways the investigation could end. Those 21 attorneys could be required to pay for the investigation fees, take ethics courses, receive a simple verbal reprimand, suspension, and/or disbarment.
Dallas attorney Sidney Powell was included in the complaint along with 11 practicing Arizona attorneys and those from other states who worked on the Arizona case, according to NPR-affiliate KJZZ.
Phoenix-based ethics attorney Pat Sallen said that the “ethical rules governing attorney conduct are essential to holding lawyers accountable and keeping the broader legal system humming:”
‘It’s incredibly important that lawyers, inside court, outside of court, are held to standards so that judges can rely on them. Other lawyers can rely on them. Clients can rely on them.’
One of the seven attorneys who filed the complaint is a member of the State Bar of Arizona Board of Governors, Attorney Bob McWhirter. He told 12 News:
‘You’re not allowed to use the courts as your political playground. It’s not a liberal or conservative thing at all. It’s about not filing frivolous lawsuits which wastes thousands and thousands of taxpayer dollars.’
Another one of the seven attorneys filing the complaint Dianne Post said that complaints such as these are quite serious:
‘We are obligated under our ethical code to bring this to the attention of the Regulation Division when we see ethical violations.’
Of the seven signatories on the letter, two attorneys were former State Bar of Arizona presidents Roxana Bacon and Amelia Craig Cramer. Another, Jack Wilenchik spoke about the Arizona Supreme Court:
‘[It] identified a request for sanctions made on the same political basis:
‘[The complaint reads] like a Democratic press release. I consider it the highest calling of a lawyer to advocate on behalf of people whose beliefs others disagree with, or they even find distasteful or repugnant—that is what a good lawyer does. What is truly unprofessional is personally targeting lawyers simply for doing their job.’
One attorney, who wished to be anonymous said that the letter was “built on lies:”
‘The only unethical act here is them filing a false bar charge.’
The Mueller Report Adventures: In Bite-Sizes on this Facebook page. These quick, two-minute reads interpret the report in normal English for busy people. Mueller Bite-Sizes uncovers what is essentially a compelling spy mystery. Interestingly enough, Mueller Bite-Sizes can be read in any order.
