New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, the Chair of the Republican House Conference, just demanded the disbarment of New York Attorney General Letitia James, who has been, Stefanik alleges, waging a “relentless lawfare” campaign against former President Donald Trump.
Stefanik did so in a 64-page letter to the New York Committee on Professional Standards in which she alleges lays out the case against AG James. In it, she provides example after example of AG James’ bias against Trump, especially in the form of tweets that she attacked to the letter as exhibits.
In a statement on the letter obtained by Breitbart News, Stefanik said, “It is evident that Attorney General James violated fundamental principles of fairness and impartiality by engaging in a relentless lawfare campaign against President Trump, marked by over 50 prejudicial comments on social media during just the first five weeks of the trial.”
Demanding James be disbarred in a letter, Stefanik said, “New York Attorney General Letitia James violated the Rules of Professional Conduct by conducting a biased investigation and prosecution of President Trump and by attacking President Trump through extrajudicial statements during a trial. In just the first five weeks of the trial that began in October 2023–before I stopped counting–Ms. James made over 50 highly inappropriate and prejudicial comments on social media. This complaint respectfully requests that the Attorney Grievance Committee conduct an investigation and issue an immediate interim suspension, disbar Ms. James as an attorney and counselor-at-law, or suspend Ms. James.”
Continuing, she added, “The investigation and trial of President Trump are matters of enormous public interest and concern. All citizens, including Ms. James, have rights under the First Amendment to speak freely on matters of public interest and concern. However, as a licensed attorney, Ms. James is subject to special rules and responsibilities under New York’s Rules of Professional Conduct. These rules create specific restrictions that apply only to attorneys, not to ordinary citizens or members of the general public.”
Explaining the reasoning for her demands, Stefanik then said, “See Gentile v. State Bar of Nevada, 501 U.S. 1030, 1074 (1991) (distinguishing the lawyer’s more constrained latitude to speak about pending cases as an “officer of the court,” from “the common rights of citizens” to speak freely about judicial matters). As set forth herein, Ms. James’ conduct appears to violate her special responsibilities as an attorney, and her actions warrant discipline.”
Later in the letter, Stefanik explained what the Code of Professional conduct requires of officers of the legal system like AG James, saying, “As an officer of the legal system, each lawyer has a duty to uphold the legal process; to demonstrate respect for the legal system; to seek improvement of the law; and to promote access to the legal system and the administration of justice. In addition, a lawyer should further the public’s understanding of and confidence in the rule of law and the justice system because, in a constitutional democracy, legal institutions depend on popular participation and support to maintain their authority.”
Then, after giving numerous examples of AG James’ allegedly inappropriate comments and bias in the investigation against former president Trump, Stefanik said, “Ms. James violated multiple Rules of Professional Conduct through her comments duringtrial and by actions and comments that adversely reflect on her fitness as a lawyer.”
In conclusion, she said, “I urge the Attorney Grievance Committee to investigate Ms. James’ conduct. To remedy the significant and ongoing harm to the public and to protect the profession, Ms. James should be suspended on an interim basis, and then she should be disbarred or suspended.“
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