ALL THE MARBLES

 ALL THE MARBLES

In my memoir published before Trump's first term, (‘‘The Client Decides”), I reported on a case I had handled in which real estate magnate Trump had exhibited his inclination to stifle the judiciary by attacking lawyers who brought cases or proceedings against him. To be clear, instead of addressing the merits of a dispute, Trump sought to incapacitate his adversaries by stripping them of effective legal counsel.

  In that matter, Trump sought to evict rent-controlled tenants in a building he wished to purchase and convert to a condominium. The tenants, naturally enough, hired a law firm to protect their rights, and Trump responded by suing the small law partnership for 105 million dollars! He claimed the firm was guilty of violating the federal RICO statute in that they used the courts and other local administrative agencies in an illegal effort to protect the tenants' rights. Strung together, he pleaded, the courts and the administrative agencies the lawyers used were "Racketeering Influenced Corrupt Organizations.’’

Bottom line: we got Trump's lawsuit dismissed by the District Judge, that decision was affirmed on appeal, and when we sought to take Trump's deposition in an effort to recover our counsel fees, he folded and wrote a fat check, a copy of which our client framed and posted on his office wall. 

Today's New York Times reveals the 2025 version of the Trump approach. The front page reports on the president’s revocation of the security clearance of Marc Zaid, a lawyer who for 32 years has represented whistleblowers, i.e., government employees who reported on government ethical or legal lapses, whether the administration was Republican or Democratic. Zaid’s offense? "He was involved with the whistleblower at the center of the first impeachment case against President Trump.” Without a security clearance, Mr. Zaid might not be able to represent officials who work on classified matters. A government spokesman has referred to this as "retribution."

Add to this the Trump administration’s investigation into federal prosecutors and FBI agents who worked on the cases involving the January 6 rioters. Trump has also said he will strip the security clearance of the prosecutors and lawyers who played a role in his two impeachments.

Given the long list of patently illegal executive orders coming out of this Administration and the shameful and complete abandonment of principle on the part of Republican legislators, only the third branch of our government can put it a stop to this autocratic putsch. 

Is it up to the task? Will the 6 to 3 conservative majority of the Supreme Court step up and protect our Constitution, or will they too bend the knee?

We are, I fear, now playing for all the marbles. 

A bientot.

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