Former Presidents of the D.C. Bar Amicus Brief in Support of Plaintiff

Key Excerpts

• Any intervention by a President that demonstrably obstructs the functioning of the legal process is nothing short of a betrayal of this solemn constitutional duty.
• The President’s stated grounds for issuing these decrees appear to reflect his unilateral hostility toward lawyers who undertook to represent his political opponents.
• It is reckless and indecent to use the aegis of the Oval Office to smear the reputation of respected lawyers and law firms simply to punish them for having had the temerity to represent clients who promote policies that the President personally does not like.
• In dealing with a fictional book and film, we can simply watch passively when a powerful man confronts a citizen and “makes him an offer that he can’t refuse.”   But when the integrity of the American legal system is at stake, any such man, even the President, must be told that he has gone too far.