Inspired by Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 11 Project works to recalibrate law and order in the legal field so that attorneys can again zealously represent causes and clients, no matter how unpopular, without worry of being disciplined for political reasons.

 

The United States has an urgent need to rebalance what has become a very lopsided scale of justice. The greatest threat to “democracy” in this nation is not challenging elections — which we have a right to do. Rather, it is a coordinated campaign by those who use the instruments of government to attack political opponents and to silence free speech. The right to an attorney as a zealous advocate is a crucial fundamental right in our legal system and it is afforded to even the worst of the worst. The chilling effect of the anti-Trump movement to weaponize the bar discipline process and the judicial system against a President, his attorneys, and other allies runs counter to our entire system of three coequal branches of government.

 

The 2020 general election was contentious. Most general elections, even as far back as to the country’s founding, have been so. One preeminent case was the fiercely contested presidential election of 1800 which led to the seminal ruling of Marbury v. Madison. In more recent history, Al Gore repeatedly claimed that the 2000 election was “stolen” by George W. Bush. Hillary Clinton repeatedly claimed that the 2016 election was “stolen” by Donald Trump.

 

But not until 2020 has a political party (the Democrat Party) sought to weaponize the courts and the legal process to punish those who question an election. The Democrat Party set the precedent to unleash the power of federal, state, and county law enforcement officials to target political opponents with burdensome and costly criminal indictments and for politically motivated litigants to pursue civil lawsuits for similar reasons.

 

Organizations claiming to be non-partisan or bipartisan joined the lawfare efforts by setting upon attorney bar disciplinary boards across the country to punish attorneys who have been chastised in the court of public opinion as “election deniers” and worse. The obvious purpose of this strategy was, and is, to chill those who might raise concerns about the conduct of an election.

 

The legal profession roiled under the tactics that were, and still are, used by these groups to punish attorneys who supported President Trump and to intimidate attorneys from doing the same in the future.

 

To fight back against this lawfare, Rule 11 Project investigates whether bar complaints against the attorneys involved in these politically motivated bar complaints are appropriate. After a reasonable inquiry, Rule 11 Project lodges bar complaints and other administrative complaints where ethical and other legal violations may be rightfully alleged.

 

Using the power of government to attack political opponents who question elections is the biggest threat to our constitutional republic. It is not the questioning itself - nor is it the fighting back against leftist lawfare.