Checks and Balances (organization)

Checks and Balances is a group of conservative and libertarian attorneys that was formed in November, 2018.[1] It is composed of some members of the conservative-libertarian Federalist Society, which had assisted the Trump administration in selecting appointees for federal courts. Charter members of the new organization included, George Conway, Tom Ridge, Peter D. Keisler, Jonathan H. Adler, Orin S. Kerr, Lori S. Meyer, Paul McNulty, Phillip D. Brady, John B. Bellinger III, Carrie Cordero, Peter Keisler, Marisa C Maleck, Alan Charles Raul, and Paul Rosenzweig, amongst others.[1][2][3][4] The group was formed to provide a conservative legal voice for responses when, in its words, "Trump attacks the Justice Department and the news media".[3][4]

Organization member Peter Keisler said the group had received an "overwhelmingly positive response", including from Federalist Society members,[5] however, the formation of the group was sharply criticized by Federalist Society leader Leonard Leo, saying he found "the underlying premise of the group rather offensive".

On October 10, 2019, the group released a statement offering their legal reasoning for an "expeditious" impeachment probe into President Trump.[6] They cited the Special Counsel's report, which highlights that the "Trump 2016 campaign was open to and enthusiastic about receiving Russian government-facilitated assistance to gain an advantage in the previous election" and they outlined the recent facts regarding Trump's attempts to put pressure on Ukraine for his personal and political benefit.[7][8] After the statement by Checks and Balances was published, organization member George Conway said that the White House letter (reported by the Daily Beast as mostly written by Trump),[9] refusing to cooperate in the House of Representatives impeachment hearings, was "trash".[10]

See also

References
  1. "Conservative Lawyers Say Trump Has Undermined the Rule of Law". Retrieved 2018-11-15.
  2. Liptak, Adam. "Checks and Balances – Mission Statement". www.documentcloud.org. Retrieved 2018-11-15.
  3. Veronica Stracqualursi; Laura Jarrett. "George Conway, conservative lawyers form group to speak out against Trump". CNN. Retrieved 2018-11-15.
  4. "New Conservative Lawyers' Group 'Checks and Balances' Bristles at Trump". National Law Journal. Retrieved 2018-11-15.
  5. "Axios Sneak Peek". Axios. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  6. Itkowitz, Colby (2019-10-10). "George Conway and other prominent conservatives call for 'expeditious' impeachment probe". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2019-10-11.
  7. Wise, Justin (2019-10-10). "George Conway, conservative attorneys urge House to move quickly on impeachment". TheHill. Retrieved 2019-10-13.
  8. "New Statement from Checks and Balances on President Trump's Abuse of Office". Checks and Balances. 2019-10-10. Retrieved 2019-10-13.
  9. Stein, Asawin Suebsaeng|Sam (2019-10-12). "Trump's Favorite Impeachment Lawyer Is ...Trump Himself". Retrieved 2019-10-13.
  10. Kelly, Caroline. "George Conway: White House letter condemning impeachment proceedings is 'trash'". CNN. Retrieved 2019-10-13.
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