For years, the far right has been on its anti-intellectual kick. But somehow, I still would have thought that, when facing felony charges, a conservative would want an attorney who really knows what they’re talking about. Well, knowledge about the criminal activity alleged doesn’t appear to be a requirement for Trump defendants.
Kenneth Chesebro is one of the 19 people — along with former president Donald Trump — charged in Georgia state court with a RICO conspiracy designed to keep Trump in power despite losing the 2020 election. Chesebro has requested a speedy trial, as did Kraken lawyer Sidney Powell. Last week, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee decided Chesebro and Powell would be tried together starting on October 23rd.
Chesebro is accused of being behind the false electors scheme, writing in a memo the intent was to “create a scenario under which Biden can be prevented from reaching 270 electoral votes, even if Trump has not managed by then to obtain court decisions (or state legislative resolutions) invalidating enough results to push Biden below 270.” But as reported by Daily Kos, Chesebro’s attorney doesn’t know much about it:
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In court on Wednesday, Chesebro’s attorney, Manubir Arora, wanted it known that this was some complicated stuff. Like, really complicated. “On our side, we will have intellects talking about, is the ECA constitutional, is it not, what is the 12th Amendment,” he said. “I mean, frankly, judge, prior to this case, I didn’t know what the 12th Amendment was, because I’d never even thought about it, I don’t know if anybody in this room had really thought about it.”
“Frankly, judge, prior to this case, I didn't know what the 12th amendment was..” pic.twitter.com/zbvSP4Zb6X
— Acyn (@Acyn) September 6, 2023
Now it’s true becoming a lawyer requires a lot of rote memorization to pass the bar exam, but no one is asking you to recite all 27 amendments before you can add esquire to your name. And I’ll concede, that, outside of niche election lawyers/professors, before 2020, the 12th Amendment didn’t merit a ton of consideration. But maybe hire someone who is an expert in the 12th Amendment when you’re accused of violating it and not someone whose entire pitch to the judge is, hey, I’m not really sure what I’m talking about. Because this just looks like amateur hour — not that I’m surprised.
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Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @[email protected].