E.G. Bell
I remember when President Trump had Attorney General Jeff Sessions retire. Mr. Sessions had fallen out of favor over a recusal. William Barr, 77th Attorney General of the U.S. was then tapped to be the 85th.
A clever local road sign pundit punned that there would now be a “Barr Tab” due for agitators against the administration. It is funny how things work out. The pundit was prescient. Forward seeing, but perhaps not as originally intended. He did get the ‘bar tab’ thing right though.
Consider Rudy Giuliani. As of this writing, his law license has been suspended and a recommendation has been made to disbar him. Disbar means to expel a lawyer. Rescind the right to practice law. The bar tab for failure to adhere strictly to the truth?
Giuliani disbarred:
“Giuliani told the panel that time was of the essence so he had to file the suit before he had evidence to back up the claim. That evidence never materialized.”
Mr. Giuliani has had a lot to say. A lot of ‘facts’ he has been unwilling to present in courts of law. In court, truth is very important.
Consider Lin Wood. Mr. Wood’s loose adherence to facts and truth led him to preemptively surrender his law license rather than face disbarment. Quit to avoid being forced to quit.
Consider Jena Ellis. Ms. Ellis was censured for admittedly making false claims about the election of 2020 (and now indicted in Georgia).
The office said Ellis made a series of public statements about the 2020 election that were false.
“The public censure in this matter reinforces that even if engaged in political speech, there is a line attorneys cannot cross, particularly when they are speaking in a representative capacity,” the office said in a statement.
Consider Sidney Powell (Release the Kraken). Ms. Powell was sanctioned over actions related to the 2020 election.
The 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals found that the allegations of electoral fraud Powell and others had pushed were baseless, frivolous or even refuted by their own filings.
The court held that Powell and five other lawyers — Howard Kleinhendler, Julia Zsuzsa Haller, Scott Hagerstrom, Brandon Johnson and Gregory Rohl — must pay a total of more than $152,000 in sanctions, a reduction from the $175,000 penalty initially imposed on them.
The roadside pundit was correct about a ‘bar tab’ coming due. A lot of lawyers were running a heated-rush tab buying house rounds ‘baseless, frivolous or even refuted by their own filings’. Running up a tab that came due. Is coming due.
Maybe this was just a ‘moment’ though… atypical. WELLL….
- Former campaign manager, Paul Manafort-felon.
- Former deputy campaign manager, Rick Gates-felon.
- First national security advisor, Michael Flynn-felon.
- Foreign policy advisor, George Papadopoulos-felon.
- Long-time personal lawyer, Michael Cohen-felon.
- Long-time personal advisor, Roger Stone-felon
- Campaign CEO, Steve Bannon,-Felon
- Trump embezzled funds from his own charity. Ordered to pay 2 million dollars.
- Trump settled to pay 25 million for the Trump University scam.
- Trump’s rape case was just settled. He lost.
I have to believe that EVERYONE is getting tired of the drumbeat of bar tabs. Some of those imbibing most heartily are agitated that the account is being called in.
There are ‘bar associations’ in each state that administer tests to admit members to the practice of law. There are many requirements. A degree from an accredited law school, for example. It is a lofty achievement in a respectable profession. That is the intent, anyway. As the examples above show, some find significant wiggle room between what is required and what is proscribed. There is no wiggle room to allow frivolous, baseless, false filings or statements. For those trying to expand margins, if there are margins at all, there is for a fact a bar tab coming due. Ask Messrs. Giuliani, Wood, Chesebro, and Clark, and Mses. Ellis and Powell.
The list may grow. We are in a breathtaking year when a former president has been indicted 4 times and several cadres of lawyers are conjuring defenses for the four cases… or trying to delay settling of the bar tab.
Some clever antagonist has redefined the original MAGA acronym to mean “Making Attorneys Get Attorneys”. It is an old maxim, often ascribed to Abraham Lincoln, that a lawyer who represents himself (herself) “has a fool for a client”. The attorneys above took that to heart. There may be more to follow. More attorneys exploring the outer perimeters of truth with Trump as a client. Coloring just outside the lines sometimes?
It was not so long ago that Giuliani, Wood, Ellis, and Powell (esq), etc. were stoking righteous rage among a credulous crowd eager to take up the Trump banner. How the mighty are falling! Now many of the “best and brightest’ of the early days of the Trump administration are accumulating. Under the bus. Mike Pence, John Bolton, James Mattis. William Barr. John Kelly. Rex Tillerson. Omarosa. Jeff Sessions, Anthony Scaramucci. Steve Bannon, Etc. Etc. Etc. Best people when they started. Sullied now. The tab is getting pretty big. Growing all the time. The ‘bar tenders’, Willis, Smith, and James are tallying the charges. The tab is coming due.
Our local roadside pundit is still offering pearly aphorisms on each side of his huge sign. I try to avoid reading his messages as I drive past, not because there is any painful truth or wisdom in the ‘pearls’. I fear any distraction along a 55 mph section of road causing a slow reader’s crash. I have not seen a reference to the Barr Tab again. Of course, William Barr has found himself out of favor of “Those who write on outhouse walls….” More irony. Multiple levels of ‘Barr Tab’ coming to light as Mr. Barr has become more outspoken about his former boss and the legitimacy and jeopardy of the indictments. The roadside pundit does seem to be more and more prophetic though. The bar tab IS coming due! I hope to see it soon finally settled.
