American Bar task force calls on lawyers to defend against threats to democracy

When the American Bar Association’s Task Force for American Democracy officially launches Thursday, it will call on America’s lawyers to take up the “clarion call” to defend the U.S. constitutional democracy against the “serious threat” of “rising authoritarianism.”

“Our country and democracy face a wide variety of serious threats, including that of rising authoritarianism,” the bipartisan task force wrote in its opening report. “For the first time in our history, we did not have a peaceful transition of power in our last presidential election.”  

“Just as doctors were on the frontlines of the nation’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, lawyers must now answer the clarion call to defend America’s constitutional democracy and the rule of law,” the document reads,” the group wrote. 

The New York Times first obtained the group’s opening statement and report. The group has 30 lawyers and is co-chaired by retired conservative federal judge J. Michael Luttig and former Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson. 

The task force was first put together by ABA President Mary Smith in the hopes of “grappling with deep political divisions and pervasive misinformation about our electoral processes.” 

“Through extensive research, community engagement via listening tours and numerous consultations, the Task Force has identified key issues undermining our democratic institutions. Notably, the rise of misinformation, the normalization of political violence and a growing disillusionment with democratic governance,” she wrote.

The report does not explicitly mention former President Trump and a group of conservative lawyers’ efforts to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power during the 2020 election by casting doubts on the fairness of the election. Trump has been indicted for his involvement in the efforts to overturn the election.

To date, neither Trump nor any of these attorneys — led by conservative law professor John Eastman, former Trump Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, Kenneth Chesebro and Jenna Ellis — have been able to prove any of their allegations about the 2020 election, which President Biden won in a free and fair contest.

In fact, most of those attorneys are now facing disbarment proceedings as well as trials for fraud, according to CNN. 

The New York Bar has also disbarred Rudy Giuliani. 

Trump has not fully committed to supporting the results of the 2024 election, telling the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he would need to see if the election was carried out freely and fairly.

The report calls on lawyers to remain engaged in the political process by voting and ensuring their friends and family members vote. It also advocates for them to “be democracy leaders” by advocating for judges, election officials and poll workers. 

The report also calls on them to volunteer in the electoral process by signing up to be poll workers, providing accurate legal information to people in their community concerned about election integrity, or joining the Election Official Legal Defense Network. 

The report stressed the importance of lawyers providing counsel to clients that “must always be faithful to and consistent with the Constitution and laws of the United States and the constitutions and laws of the states in which the advice and counsel is given,” warning that lawyers who fail to do so will be “held accountable.”  

“Lawyers have the unique skills and obligation to defend democracy, the Constitution and the rule of law as each takes an oath to do just that,” the report added. “We encourage state licensing authorities to be quick to investigate and act on any such violations, especially when related to our elections.”