“If Trump Gets In, There Won’t Be Any More Political Parties”: Former Federal Conservative Judge Leads New Group To Defend Democracy From Trump

Jo ShawNov 28, 2023

Minute Read

In a recent op-ed published by the New York Times, three conservatives, Ms. Comstock, a former Republican Representative of Virginia, J. Michael Luttig, a former federal Judge and attorney George Conway, have announced the establishment of a new group called the Society for the Rule of Law Institute. A group they state will “bring sanity back” and defend democracy against Donald Trump.

A New Coalition of Conservatives

The new coalition of influential conservatives is urging their legal allies to oppose Donald Trump’s challenge to the rule of law, cautioning that Trump jeopardizes the system of governance.

The Righteous Causes

The op-ed’s opening statements read, “American democracy, the Constitution and the rule of law are the righteous causes of our times, and the nation’s legal profession is obligated to support them.”

The Dangers Will Only Grow

The op-ed then takes a darker turn as it reads, “… these pillars of our system of governance are increasingly in peril. The dangers will only grow should Donald Trump be returned to the White House next November.”

A Second Term for Trump Is Frightening

The opinion piece then underscored Trump’s intentions in the event of securing another presidential term. The assembly of conservative legal experts deemed it “frightening.”

Trump’s Plans to Circumvent the Law

“Recent reporting about plans for a second Trump presidency are frightening. He would stock his administration with partisan loyalists committed to fast-tracking his agenda and sidestepping — if not circumventing altogether — existing laws and long-established legal norms,” the op-ed read.

He Was Thwarted, Betrayed

The op-ed subsequently emphasized Trump’s extensively covered intentions to appoint loyalists to public office and the judiciary and invoke the Insurrection Act on his inaugural day as President. The conservative authors then declared, “We have seen him try this before, though fortunately he was thwarted — he would say ‘betrayed’— by executive branch lawyers and by judges who refused to go along with his more draconian and often unlawful policies and his effort to remain in office after being cast out by voters.”

He Will Not Be Beaten Again

The authors then forebodingly warned that Trump, should he be victorious, would not be beaten a second time. “But should Mr. Trump return to the White House, he will arrive with a coterie of lawyers and advisers who, like him, are determined not to be thwarted again,” they wrote.

The Federalist Society Failed to Respond to Crisis

The authors then heavily criticized a conservative legal organization, the Federalist Society, stating the group had “failed to respond in this period of crisis.” Luttig, Conway and Comstock wrote the group “failed to reckon with his [Trump’s] effort to overturn the last presidential election and his continued denial that he lost that election.”

The Legal Profession Is in Crisis.

The authors accused the Federalist Society of “conspicuously” declining to speak out against Trump and his administration during his last time in office, specifically during his attempts to overturn the election. “When White House lawyers are inventing cockamamie theories to stop the peaceful transition of power and copping pleas to avoid jail time, it’s clear that we in the legal profession have come to a crisis point,” they exclaimed.

Laud the Lawyers Refusing to Back Trump

Luttig, Conway and Comstock also highlighted the actions of Trump’s former lawyers who had either quit their positions or refused to represent him: “We are thankful that there were lawyers in the Trump administration who opted to resign or be fired rather than advance his flagrantly unconstitutional schemes. They should be lauded.”

The Society for the Rule of Law Institute

In response to the inaction of the Federalist Society and the danger that Trump poses to the rule of law, they decided to form the Society for the Rule of Law Institute with the distinct purpose of bringing “sanity back to conservative lawyering and jurisprudence.”

A Movement That Defends Democracy

“We must rebuild a conservative legal movement that supports and defends American democracy, the Constitution and the rule of law and that incentivizes and promotes those lawyers who are prepared to do the same,” the oped read.

Pro-democracy and Pro-rule-Of-Law

Luttig, Conway and Comstock argued that there was “a need and demand for this new legal movement” that would be “Pro-democracy” with “pro-rule-of-law lawyers.” They declared their ambitions to “populate our law school campuses, law firms and the courts” and stand up against what they perceive as a threat to their profession.

Speaking Out Against Authoritarian Legal Theories

The op-ed came to a close as the authors wrote that they planned to “marshal principled voices to speak out against the endless stream of falsehoods and authoritarian legal theories that are being propagated almost daily.” They claimed that if they did not work to achieve their plan, they would “cede the field to lawyers of bad faith.”

Welcoming Progressives With Open Arms

They also claimed that although their newly established group consisted of conservatives, progressives were also welcome. “While those in the pro-democracy legal community — many of them progressives — might disagree with our overall legal philosophy, we welcome them with open arms.”

America Is in a Constitutional Emergency.

The conservative alliance closed their op-ed by stating, “Our country comes first, and our country is in a constitutional emergency, if not a constitutional crisis. We all must act accordingly, especially us lawyers.”

Going Up Against the Sewage

However, online users were not so convinced of the arguments, especially with former federal Judge Luttig. One user posted, “Does not in any way make him or his legal decisions, or his political view any more acceptable; he’s still filth. It’s just now that the filth is seeing the error of his ways, siding with sane non-garbage of America, and going up against the sewage. Conservative is a vile four letter word. Would all they rot – the rest would sing.”