There is a lawsuit filed by citizen journalist well known to many as Mike Cernovich. He is seeking voir dire of the jurors in the Roger Stone trial. Translation of that term is ‘preliminary questions’. Each juror is required to complete a questionnaire prior to being assigned to a case. This particular motion filed by Cernovich has the focus on Tomeka Hart, the anti-Trump juror in question. Cernovich argues that her public social media posts obstructed her duty as a juror for a fair and impartial decision in the case.
To read the 9 page Cernovich motion for access to the preliminary questions, click here.
The judge in the case, U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson has chosen Alan Raul from the law firm Sidley Austin to represent the jurors free of charge. Judge Berman only provided one reason for assigning the pro bono lawyer and that was in the interest of justice and a full and fair resolution. Raul is a member of the ABA Cybersecurity Legal Task Force and Center for Democracy. Before his time at Sidley Austin, Raul was general council for the Office of Management and Budget as well as the Department of Agriculture.
But wait…he does not like President Trump either and have some real issues with Attorney General Bill Barr. Imagine that.
You see there is an organization called ‘Checks and Balances’ made up of allegedly conservative/libertarian lawyers. Alan Raul is part of that organization. This is a real issue within the White House. How so you ask?
Conservative attorney George Conway, husband of White House advisor Kellyanne Conway, has been vocal about his distaste for his wife’s boss, Donald Trump. He has been known to subtweet the president and has said he regrets introducing his wife to Trump at all. And now, he’s helped to form a group for conservative and libertarian lawyers who argue Trump is undermining the rule of law.
The 14 founding members of Checks and Balances are prominent attorneys—law professors, private practitioners, and former government lawyers—who say they are “standing up for the principles of constitutional governance.” Their mission statement explains:
We believe in the rule of law, the power of truth, the independence of the criminal justice system, the imperative of individual rights, and the necessity of civil discourse. We believe these principles apply regardless of the party or persons in power. We believe in “a government of laws, not of men.”
Swell huh? Hold on…it gets worse:
Orin Kerr, another founding member of Checks and Balances, is a professor at the University of Southern California’s law school and former trial attorney in the Department of Justice. He is also an active voice on Twitter, where he is frequently critical of the president. Hat tip Quartz.
The President is a seventh grader. https://t.co/48ieFkyfbW
— Orin Kerr (@OrinKerr) November 18, 2018
Back To Raul however. He did sign a previous Checks and Balances letter last October that was quite supportive of the Trump impeachment and critical of President Trump when it came to holding military aid to Ukraine for political purposes. Judge Jackson in court hearing the arguments for a new trial for Roger Stone, real aloud online commentary by President Trump and made several references to Tucker Carlson. Judge Jackson is expressing concern for the safety of the Stone trial jurors. She has not yet ruled on the motion by Roger Stone and his lawyer for a new trial. This article is a summary from Law.com.
