Afternoon Briefs: AG official resigns after Capitol march robocall; 157 law deans condemn election lawyers
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Official with AG group resigns after ‘stop the steal’ robocall
Adam Piper, the executive director of the Republican Attorneys General Association, has resigned after the group’s fundraising arm urged supporters to march to the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. “At 1:00 p.m., we will march to the Capitol building and call on Congress to stop the steal,” the recorded message said. “We’re hoping patriots like you will join us to continue to fight to protect the integrity of our elections.” (NBC News, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post)
157 law deans condemn election lawyers who betrayed values
The deans of 157 law schools released a statement Tuesday condemning the attacks on the U.S. Capitol as an assault on the rule of law. The deans also criticized lawyers who challenged election results with unsupported claims. “This betrayed the values of our profession,” the statement said. (Law360, Bloomberg Law, the Washington Post, the statement)
PBS lawyer resigns after secret video released
PBS contracts lawyer Michael Beller has resigned after release of an undercover video by the activist group Project Veritas, which aims to expose supposed liberal bias. In what appeared to be an edited barroom conversation with a woman, Beller said President Donald Trump was “close to Hitler,” and the children of Republican voters should be sent to “re-education camps.” Asked what he would do if Trump won, Beller laughed and said, “Go to the White House and throw Molotov cocktails.” (The Associated Press, Law & Crime, the video)
Lawyer calls Trump provocation a ‘sin’ but not impeachable
Lawyer Alan Dershowitz, a professor at Harvard Law School, told NBC’s Today show Tuesday that President Donald Trump’s provocation of supporters who stormed the U.S. Capitol was a “political and moral sin” that will harm the Republican Party. But Dershowitz said Trump’s words were constitutionally protected and didn’t constitute an impeachable offense. (The Independent)
