Ted Olson (Photo by Paul Archuleta/FilmMagic)
The Washington Post is reporting that the Trump legal team has reached out Ted Olson, to add some more legal firepower to the administration’s defense against the Robert Mueller probe.
Sources close to Olson report that the Gibson Dunn partner has already turned Trump down. This is coming from Ted Boutrous, another big time lawyer at Gibson Dunn who is also a prodigious tweeter.
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I can confirm that @gibsondunn and Theodore B. Olson will not be representing @realDonaldTrump
— Ted Boutrous (@BoutrousTed) March 20, 2018
I think Boutrous has the right of it. Ted Olson is one of the most well-respected lawyers in the country. Working for Trump would be like taking his reputation, lighting it on fire, and then rolling around in its ashes.
Understand, it’s not the issue. Under normal circumstances, representing the President of the United States — any President of the United States — would be a fine assignment. The system works best when all sides are represented by competent legal counsel.
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The problem with representing Trump is that he doesn’t listen to his attorneys. It’s incredibly difficult to represent a client who is going to ignore your advice and do, say, or tweet whatever he wants. It’s damaging to represent a client who is constantly undermining your efforts. It’s impossible to represent a client who wants you to suborn additional illegal actions, like potentially lying under oath or obstructing justice.
Trump would bring all of these problems into Ted Olson’s life. And for what? Just so Olson can say he represented a low-grade despot in his ongoing attempt to destroy democratic self-government?
Consider the difference between this case and Olson’s most famous presidential representation of George W. Bush in the Florida recount fight. There, Bush had a valid legal claim, and was willing to argue his case along normal, ethical lines. Bush was not trying to undermine the process, he was trying to avail himself of the process. The fact that Bush turned out to be functional simpleton who rushed the country into an unwinnable war against the wrong adversary does not besmirch Olson’s reputation as a lawyer, or his moral standing.
Say what you will about George W. Bush, but he wasn’t trying to undermine the rule of law in America (that was Dick Cheney’s job).
Trump is altogether different. He’s an actual threat to democracy. Everybody he touches leaves as a lesser person than they were before. Why would Olson want that? Why would Gibson Dunn want that?
I don’t know that Trump is going to be able to attract “good” lawyers anymore. More to the point, I don’t know that it’s still possible to be a “good” lawyer and work for Trump.
Trump legal team seeks to add star GOP attorney Theodore B. Olson [Washington Post]
Elie Mystal is the Executive Editor of Above the Law and the Legal Editor for More Perfect. He can be reached @ElieNYC on Twitter, or at [email protected]. He will resist.