Attorney Lawyer

the good ones vs LIARS

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an 4 25

On Sunday, April 6, Dearborn, Michigan-based attorney Amir Makled was returning from a visit to the Dominican Republic when he was detained by federal agents for roughly 90 minutes at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport. Makled, who is representing Samantha Lewis — a pro-Palestinian demonstrator arrested at the University of Michigan in 2024 — described the experience during an interview with the Detroit Free Press.

According to Detroit Free Press reporter Tresa Baldas, Makled was "questioned about his clients and asked to give up his cellphone" but "stood his ground" and "didn't give up his phone."

Makled explained to the Free Press, "So, I tell them, 'I know you can take my phone. I'm not going to give you my phone, however.... 90 percent of my work is on my phone. You're not getting unfettered access to (it).'"

Baldas reports, "What followed was a 90-minute, back-and-forth verbal tussle between Makled and two federal agents, who, he said, ultimately released him without taking his phone, but looked at his contacts list instead. For the 38-year-old civil rights and criminal defense attorney, it was a daunting experience that he says highlights a troubling phenomenon that's occurring across the United States: Lawyers are getting targeted for handling issues the administration of President Donald Trump disagrees with."

Trump, in March, sent the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) a memo urging sanctions against attorneys he is accusing of making "rampant fraud and meritless claims" in the immigration system.

Makled, however, points out that he is not an immigration attorney.

Makled told the Free Press, "This current administration is doing something that no administration has done — they are attacking attorneys. This is a different type of threat to the rule of law that I see. They are now challenging the judiciary, or lawyers; they're putting pressure (on them) to dissuade attorneys from taking on issues that are against the government's issues. We have an obligation as lawyers to stand up to this stuff."

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see roberta kaplan

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an 8 24

earlier this week, Democratic election lawyer Marc Elias predicted in an interview with *Rolling Stone*that pro-Donald Trump election officials across the country — in seven battleground states — are expected to refuse their duty of certifying results in November.

"'I think we are going to see mass refusals to certify the election' in November," the Democracy Docket founder told Rolling Stone."Everything we are seeing about this election is that the other side is more organized, more ruthless, and more prepared."

Speaking with MSNBC contributor and podcast host Brian Tyler Cohen Thursday, Elias sent a warning to GOP election officials.

"If you're a Republican county official — do your job," the Democratic lawyer said. "If you're not prepared to do your job, to administer fair elections to certify accurate results, now is the time to resign. Get out of office. You're not cut out for the job you've been given. If you cannot celebrate democracy and the outcome of free and fair elections, regardless of whether the candidate you support won or lost — you're in the wrong business. Leave the election business and go do something else."

Elias emphasized, "But if you stay in this job, if you choose to be in a position to administer elections and to certify the election results, and you don't do your job, you're gonna get sued. And you're gonna lose. And you're gonna go down in history as one of the villains in American history. And that is true for the county election officials, it is true for the state election officials, and, by the way, it is true for those Republican members of Congress listening: If you can't accept the outcome of free and fair elections — shame on you. Go find another line of work."

In April, the Bulwark's AB Stoddard reported, "Delay is critical to every part of the Trump strategy if Biden wins in November—delay verifying ballots, delay with recounts, delay with audits."

Goddard also noted that in Rich Lowry's column published by the National Review column in March, he wrote, "we can stipulate that if Trump loses in November he won’t concede the election and, in all likelihood, will engage in the same kind of pressure campaign to change the results as he did in 2020."

Watch the video below or at this link.