Dear DOJ Alumni,
We wanted to notify you that later today Lawfare will publish a piece co-authored by two of the counsel representing you as amici (along with two Harvard law students) that explains our intent to seek leave to file an amicus brief on your behalf, if permitted by the court, and summarizes the legal authority and analysis contained in the brief. The Lawfare piece will also link to the current draft of the brief.
We have elected to publish this piece and share the brief now for a few reasons. First, we believe that we have a very compelling argument that Judge Sullivan has the authority to scrutinize the government’s motion and, if he determines that it is “tainted with impropriety” and not in the public interest, to deny it. Second, there seems to be a general consensus among many commentators and even experts that Judge Sullivan does not have the authority to deny the motion. Third, we don’t know when (or even if) Judge Sullivan will allow us to file, and no matter how compelling the brief is, it achieves nothing if no one can read it. Therefore, we believe that there is mostly upside (and relatively little risk) to putting a draft of the brief out there now. Note that the draft released today will NOT include a list of the amici (i.e. all of you).
We still plan on filing the amicus brief with the Court if and when we are granted the opportunity to do so, and we will continue to accept additional amici for as long as possible.
All former federal prosecutors and those who supervised prosecutors are invited to join the attached brief as amici by filling out this form
Here is some information in response to questions we are frequently asked:
We understand that there is no clear definition as to precisely who qualifies as a former federal prosecutor, but amici are to include those with experience in prosecuting federal criminal cases, including handling federal criminal prosecutions on appeal, and those who supervised such individuals. By completing the form to sign on as amici, you are representing to us that you meet the criteria.
By agreeing to sign on as amicus, you consent to have the counsel in the signature block of the draft brief represent you as counsel for the limited purpose of filing the brief (and for no other purpose).
You do not have to be admitted to any bar or court in order to be an amicus. The counsel in the signature block are representing you for this limited purpose.
We encourage you to invite your former colleagues to sign on.
Due to the large number of signatories, we are unable to accept any substantive edits. We do, however, anticipate the potential need to make minor edits to clarify facts and assertions, correct typos and grammatical errors, etc. But the substance of the draft will not change in any material way before filing (and in the unlikely event that it does—for example, because facts on the ground change—we will share another draft before we file).
Again, I apologize for being slow to respond to email. We are grateful for your ongoing support.
Best
Justin
Justin Vail
protectdemocracy.org | (314) 341-9149
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Dear DOJ Alumni
Here is the piece we published in Lawfare today. The Washington Post also reported on our intent to request leave to file the brief when Judge Sullivan sets a schedule.
Thank you for the overwhelmingly positive response and support. We also appreciate the feedback from those of you who disagree with the decision to make the draft public before filing with the Court. Please know that we did our due diligence before publishing the draft, and our best strategic judgment was that the upside outweighed any risk. You’ll see that the Washington Post article also links to an amicus brief on behalf of GOP state attorneys general, which argues that the Court must immediately grant the government’s motion to dismiss. We did not want such arguments to stack up without Judge Sullivan--and former Judge Gleeson, the Court’s appointed amicus--having the benefit of our brief. Even if you disagree with our decision, we hope you trust that our sole consideration is maximizing the chance that we have some positive effect toward protecting the rule of law.
You are welcome to share the Lawfare and Washington Post pieces on social media and express your support and/or intent to sign on as amici. Here is Protect Democracy’s tweet about the Lawfare piece:
https://twitter.com/protctdemocracy/status/1262492051909816320
We will continue to accept additional amici for as long as possible. Please continue to encourage your former colleagues to join the brief by completing the form in the link below:
All former federal prosecutors and those who supervised prosecutors are invited to join the attached brief as amici by filling out this form.
Best,
Justin
Justin Vail protectdemocracy.org | (314) 341-9149
Show quoted text Show quoted text Dear DOJ Alumni,
Earlier today, Judge Sullivan issued an order setting a briefing schedule for amicus curiae, so we plan on seeking leave to file our brief tomorrow afternoon. Over 1,100 of you have signed on as amici as of 6:00pm ET today. I've attached a list of current amici. We will continue to accept additional amici until 9:00am ET tomorrow.
All former federal prosecutors and those who supervised prosecutors are invited to join the brief as amici by filling out this form.
We will notify everyone after the brief is filed.
You may have seen that Flynn petitioned the D.C. Circuit for a writ of mandamus. We're considering whether to file an amicus brief in the D.C. Circuit as well, and we'll keep you updated on that front.
I apologize for the increased volume of email from us recently, but we want to keep everyone apprised of developments throughout the process. Thanks again for your support.
Best, Justin
Justin Vail protectdemocracy.org | (314) 341-9149
Show quoted text Dear DOJ Alumni,
We just requested leave to file the attached brief on behalf of 1,187 former prosecutors with 14,300 cumulative years of experience enforcing the federal criminal laws in every administration since that of President Eisenhower. Thanks again for helping to make this possible--we're proud to represent you.
For those of you who use social media, please consider retweeting Protect Democracy's announcement:
https://twitter.com/protctdemocracy/status/1263186409751556096
Or here is some sample language for your own use:
I’m proud to join my former @TheJusticeDept colleagues in this friend-of-the-court brief in the Michael Flynn case. The Court should scrutinize AG Barr’s unprecedented move to drop the prosecution of Flynn to advance @realDonaldTrump's personal interests.
https://twitter.com/protctdemocracy/status/1263186409751556096
We also encourage you to write op-eds and letters to the editor for your local newspaper explaining the arguments we make in the brief and the reasons you joined as amici. Please continue to share any pieces you author or interview clips so that we can help circulate them.
We'll be sure to keep everyone updated moving forward.
Best, Justin
Justin Vail protectdemocracy.org | (314) 341-9149
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Aha, I remember that signup thing. So you can’t unsubscribe, that’s odd. What scum maggots they are. At least they’re utterly revealing themselves. “Lawfare” is what it is.
very interesting!
::...I am now getting their email....even though I attempted to unsubscribe.::
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After making online contributions to a few candidates during the 2018 elections, I have been rewarded with receiving all sorts of solicitations to donate to political campaigns. The rate at which I receive these has increased dramatically, so that, now, I am up to more than one each week.
Each time, I have unsubscribed, but my email address continues to be sold. Just last week, I decided to level up. Each of these emails is now reported as spam.