November 9, 2018
ACS Open Sign-On Letter Galvanizes Legal Community To Protect Mueller Investigation
In Hours, ACS Letter Collects Nearly 1,000 Signatures
MEDIA CONTACT: Cara Philbin, cphilbin@acslaw.org
Washington, D.C. — Today, the American Constitution Society (ACS) began to galvanize America’s legal community to join an open sign-on letter that demands Congress defend the rule of law against President Trump’s effort to undermine the Russia investigation.
ACS began circulating the letter on Friday morning. By Friday afternoon, more than 800 attorneys had added their signatures. Together, this expansive group of legal experts makes the following demands of Congress:
- Ensure that Acting Attorney General Whitaker recuse himself or otherwise be removed from overseeing the Mueller investigation.
- Hold President Trump accountable, through oversight, and pass legislation to protect the Mueller investigation.
- Require any future Attorney General nominated by President Trump to pledge to protect the Mueller investigation.
The letter remains open to signatures and is available at acslaw.org. Find the full text, below:
An Open Letter from The Legal Community to Members of Congress and the American People
Nothing is more central to our democracy than the rule of law. As the Supreme Court declared, over 200 years ago, in Marbury v. Madison, “the government of the United States has been emphatically termed a government of laws, and not of men.” No person is above the law, including the President of the United States. The President, in fact, has the explicit constitutional obligation to “take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed.” Indeed, he is bound by his oath to “preserve, protect, and defend” the Constitution “to the best of [his] ability.”
Inspired by these principles, we, the undersigned members of the legal profession, hereby, stand up in defense of the rule of law and against President Donald Trump’s outrageous attempts to undermine the investigation of possible wrongdoing that involves the President’s 2016 campaign and the Russian government.
President Trump’s removal of former Attorney General Jeff Sessions is clearly a maneuver to obstruct or to end Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of possible illegal activities by the President’s campaign. The Mueller investigation has already uncovered serious crimes committed by the President’s closest associates. Having now removed Atty. Sessions, President Trump appointed Matthew Whitaker to serve as Acting Attorney General.
Publicly, Whitaker has mused about how an acting AG could defund the Mueller investigation. He has also published op-eds that say Atty. Mueller’s investigation has gone too far and that it should be limited. Whitaker has the potential to end or to severely undermine the investigation, in ways that could be hidden from the public.
The Special Counsel’s investigations into Russian interference in our nation’s democratic processes must be allowed to continue. They must continue, even if they implicate persons or institutions connected to the President, to his campaign, or to his businesses. To allow the independence of the prosecutorial function in this nation to be sacrificed, to protect the President, endangers the very rule of law, on which our nation and our Constitution are based.
We, therefore, demand that:
- Acting AG Whitaker recuse himself or otherwise be removed from overseeing the Mueller investigation, as a result of his profound ethical conflicts;
- Congress hold the President accountable, through oversight, and pass legislation to protect the Mueller investigation; and
- Any future Attorney General nominated by President Trump pledge to protect the Mueller investigation.
A generation ago, President Richard Nixon assaulted the rule of law, by firing a prosecutor investigating the Watergate scandal. But his attack on our democracy was thwarted, by dedicated public servants, independent and impartial courts, aggressive bipartisan congressional oversight, and an overwhelming public outcry, led, in no small part, by lawyers from every branch of our profession. So, must it be, in our time. This is our challenge and responsibility.
Accordingly, we, the undersigned attorneys, pledge to do all that is in our power to ensure that President Trump is held accountable for his attacks on the rule of law. We will litigate, engage in peaceful protests, and take advantage of our role as community leaders, to promote understanding of the rule of law and the seriousness of the current situation. We will make our voices heard in the media, within our bar associations and other civic associations, and we will call on our representatives in Congress to speak out, as well.
We will defend the rule of law from all who seek to undermine it. We call on you to join us.