My interview with Sam Stein of The Bulwark
The good, the bad, the ugly. We talk about all the things!
Thanks to
and for having me on to talk about my path from Public Defender to Pardon Attorney to Lawyer Oyer. I got real with Sam about the positives and negatives of presidential pardons, as well as the ups and downs of fighting the Trump administration in the public eye. We covered a lot of ground. I hope you’ll watch.I hope you’ll also consider helping me build out Lawyer Oyer by becoming a paid subscriber. You can also show your support by sharing my posts and offering your thoughts in the comments. Thank you for following along!
(And consider subscribing to the Bulwark if you haven’t already!)
Thanks for sharing your experience. It makes me wonder how many have been silenced.
The Trump admin remains relentless in its effort to remove experienced, competent, non-partisan career officials so that they can be replaced by execrable hyper-partisan ignoramuses who will do anything in service of Trump’s cronyism and thugocracy.
Simply compare the measured, thoughtful, law-and-duty-oriented ethos of Liz Oyer and the servile dissembling malignity of Ed Martin, Trump’s choice to replace her.
https://www.propublica.org/article/ed-martin-trump-interim-dc-us-attorney-secret-judge-attacks
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/ed-martin-jan-6-trump-weaponization-support-militia-1235340815/
https://www.thefire.org/news/us-attorney-ed-martins-bully-tactics-have-no-place-america
Martin illustrates what I call Trump’s “purposeful incompetence.”
For Trump, incompetence is a purposeful tactic.
Why else would he nominate Gaetz, Gabbard, RFK jr, Patel, Hegseth, Martin, Habba, Pirro, Bongino, McMahon, Noem, et al?
Incompetence is destructive.
Indeed, incompetence is often more destructive than a more skilled malignity that would operate with greater precision, because incompetence creates chaos, confusion, and uncertainty everywhere.
Instilling fear is the first necessity of authoritarian rule.
A skilled malignity incites fear only in its intended targets, whereas incompetent malignity makes everyone cower, because no one can feel safe from its frequently random effects. Thus, incompetent malignity increases the power of the tyrant and his retinue of corrupt lackeys, from whom everyone must now seek protection or redress from its unpredictable whims.