{"id":146453,"date":"2026-03-19T09:28:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T17:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/03\/19\/which-trump-administration-lawyer-most-deserves-to-lose-their-license-an-atl-madness-bracket\/"},"modified":"2026-03-19T09:28:00","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T17:28:00","slug":"which-trump-administration-lawyer-most-deserves-to-lose-their-license-an-atl-madness-bracket","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/03\/19\/which-trump-administration-lawyer-most-deserves-to-lose-their-license-an-atl-madness-bracket\/","title":{"rendered":"Which Trump Administration Lawyer Most Deserves To Lose Their License? An ATL Madness Bracket"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every year \u2014 or at least most years \u2014 in honor of the NCAA Tournament, Above the Law runs a law-related bracket competition. We\u2019ve crowned the Worst Law School in America<\/a>. We\u2019ve identified the Greatest Work of Legal Fiction<\/a>. This year, we\u2019re going somewhere new. And by \u201cnew,\u201d I mean \u201cdepressingly of the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

In January, we declared that the profession \u2014 for its own good \u2014 must immediately and fiercely press licensing authorities to pursue discipline against the Trump administration\u2019s lawyers. Disbar them all<\/a>\u2026 or at least all the ones with even a modicum of decision-making authority. The administration\u2019s lawyers have already been caught lying or otherwise misleading tribunals across the country<\/a>. They have signed off on defying court orders<\/a>. They\u2019ve breached basic rules of prosecutorial responsibility<\/a>. Expansive conceptions of immunity mean there is no other recourse to hold these lawyers accountable other than for the state officials to hold these lawyers to their professional and ethical responsibilities. And, if the allegations prove true, protect the public by revoking their licenses. So, the question is\u2026<\/p>\n

Which Trump administration lawyer most deserves bar discipline?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Department of Justice understands that the profession itself is the last remaining check on its lawlessness. That\u2019s why Pam Bondi just proposed a rule to circumvent clear statutory text<\/em> and block state bar authorities from investigating any current OR FORMER government lawyer<\/a>. Under the proposed rule, Bondi can unilaterally stop a state from probing a government lawyer\u2019s ethical breaches and prevent that investigation indefinitely until the Justice Department itself chooses<\/em> to allow the state investigation. <\/p>\n

If you\u2019d like to comment on this rule\u2026 here you go<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For now, we can satisfy our professional obligations by voting in a series of polls to crown a bracket champion. <\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how this works. We\u2019ve seeded 16 current and former administration lawyers into a bracket with four regions. Each region is named after a Trumpworld legal luminary of the past. We pay homage to the legal minds whose professional \u2014 for lack of a better term, judgment<\/em>? \u2014 inspired and continues to inspire this regime.<\/p>\n

The regions are:<\/p>\n

The Roy Cohn Region<\/strong> \u2014 Named for infamous Trump\u2019s mentor<\/a>. A man who managed to leave his despicable mark on the country as the actual bridge<\/em> between Joe McCarthy and Donald Trump. <\/p>\n

The Rudy Giuliani Region<\/strong> \u2014 From America\u2019s mayor to disbarred<\/a> with a detour through the parking lot of Four Seasons Total Landscaping. Never forget, indeed!<\/em><\/p>\n

The John Eastman Region<\/strong> \u2014 The Clarence Thomas clerk behind Trump\u2019s final January 6 stratagem<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Stephen Miller Region<\/strong> \u2014 The man behind America First Legal is not, in fact, a lawyer. But the current shadow president never stopped him from treating the law as a hustle for attention<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Today, we unveil the first two regions today. One in this post, one in a post this afternoon. Tomorrow, we\u2019ll roll out the other half of the bracket. Lawyers will advance based on reader polls, in which we ask you which lawyer is most deserving of bar discipline. You can define \u201cmost deserving\u201d however you choose \u2014 severity of misconduct, brazenness, incompetence, or simply the gap between what they did and what the profession demands.<\/p>\n

Voting is open until Monday at 7:59 p.m. Eastern.<\/p>\n

\n

THE ROY COHN REGION<\/h2>\n
\"\"
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Simpsons<\/em> parodied the old Paul Harvey biographical routine with the above clip in 1994 and it\u2019s still dead on. Roy Cohn was scum. He was disbarred five weeks before he died, which was already 38 or so years too late.<\/p>\n

\n

(1) Pam Bondi vs. (4) James Percival<\/h3>\n

1. Pam Bondi, Attorney General of the United States (Stetson University College of Law)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Where do you even start? More than 70 lawyers and former judges \u2014 including two former justices of the Florida Supreme Court \u2014 filed an ethics complaint asking the Florida Bar to investigate whether Bondi pressured DOJ lawyers to violate their ethical obligations. The Florida Bar declined and the state supreme court rubberstamped a novel theory that constitutional officers are exempt from investigation while in office<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Bondi fired career DOJ attorney Erez Reuveni<\/a> for the sin of telling a federal judge the truth \u2014 that the government had erroneously deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Bondi said Reuveni failed to \u201czealously advocate\u201d when the career lawyer declined to advance a knowingly false claim in court. The message Pam Bondi wanted every DOJ lawyer to understand: lie or be fired.<\/p>\n

Just another day in Trump\u2019s personal law firm<\/a>. Oh, and there\u2019s that lingering question about her brother\u2019s string of successes against her DOJ<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And then there\u2019s that aforementioned proposed rule<\/a>. Bondi wants full authority to block investigations into government lawyers. The Fox News is indeed guarding the henhouse.<\/p>\n

4. James Percival, General Counsel, Department of Homeland Security (University of Virginia School of Law)<\/strong><\/p>\n

You might not know his name, but you should. While a \u201csenior advisor\u201d at DHS, Percival was neck deep in the persecution \u2014 and that\u2019s not a typo \u2014 of Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Take it away, The New Republic<\/em><\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cCan we say the following?\u201d Percival asked, then listed several things he\u2019d like the administration to say about Abrego Garcia, one being: \u201cThis guy is a leader of MS-13.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we can get a declaration to that effect, yes,\u201d Reuveni answered. This meant the assertion\u00a0could not<\/em>\u00a0be made without a facts-and-evidence-based declaration from ICE on Abrego Garcia\u2019s status.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Percival would later go on to ask if lawyers could assert to the court that Abrego Garcia was not \u201cin immediate danger\u201d in the El Salvadoran slave labor camp the Trump administration sent him to. On the one hand, there\u2019s room for a manager at a distance to the facts to ask questions. On the other hand, this was all after everyone understood that Abrego Garcia had been sent to El Salvador by mistake and the rules of professional responsibility do not cover spin.<\/p>\n

VOTE HERE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

(2) Ed Martin vs. (3) Brendan Carr<\/h3>\n

2. Ed Martin, DOJ Pardon Attorney \/ Weaponization Working Group (St. Louis University)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ed Martin is a gift that keeps on giving, provided the gift you wanted was a shit sandwich of dubious professional judgment<\/a>. Even the Republican-controlled Senate couldn\u2019t stomach confirming him as D.C.\u2019s U.S. Attorney \u2014 and when Judge Jeanine is your glow up, you know you\u2019re in trouble. But that didn\u2019t stop the administration from finding him work.<\/p>\n

The D.C. Office of Disciplinary Counsel has now filed formal ethics charges<\/a> against Martin for threatening Georgetown Law over its DEI curriculum while serving as interim U.S. Attorney. Georgetown\u2019s Dean told him to pound sand<\/a>. But the underlying conduct \u2014 using federal prosecutorial authority to coerce political concessions \u2014 is a textbook First Amendment violation dressed up in a demand letter.<\/p>\n

When the disciplinary office came calling, Martin didn\u2019t respond. Instead, he fired off ex parte<\/em> letters to the chief judge of the D.C. Court of Appeals<\/a>. While copying the White House Counsel. It\u2019s sort of like getting pulled over for speeding and calling the governor.<\/p>\n

Martin has spent his time in government service: dropping federal charges against his own former client<\/a>, leaking grand jury material<\/a>, and admitting he\u2019d use DOJ to harass people he couldn\u2019t actually charge<\/a>. His attempted case against NY AG Letitia James was so bad he dressed up like Inspector Gadget<\/a> and took pictures outside her home to intimidate her into making a deal\u2026 I guess?<\/p>\n

3. Brendan Carr, FCC Chairman (Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law) <\/strong><\/p>\n

Carr sees his role as broadcasting\u2019s chief regulator as cover for punishing political speech the president doesn\u2019t like. Multiple bar complaints from the Freedom of Press Foundation and Campaign for Accountability allege Carr weaponized FCC authority to threaten broadcasters over their news coverage, pressured CBS into settling Trump\u2019s personal lawsuit, and tried to get ABC to fire Jimmy Kimmel. The latter move earned a state bar rebuke that the misconduct was \u2014 weirdly \u2014 too obvious to justify further action<\/a>. Most recently, he\u2019s threatened to revoke broadcast licenses over negative news coverage of the Iran war.<\/p>\n

Ted Cruz \u2014 Ted Cruz! \u2014 called Carr\u2019s conduct \u201cdangerous as hell\u201d and compared it to a mafia extortion scheme. When you\u2019ve lost Ted Cruz on the question of whether something is too authoritarian, you\u2019ve accomplished something genuinely remarkable.<\/p>\n

VOTE HERE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n

Polls are open now. Voting will continue through Monday at 7:59 p.m. Eastern. Get in there and vote.<\/p>\n

The post Which Trump Administration Lawyer Most Deserves To Lose Their License? An ATL Madness Bracket<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Every year \u2014 or at least most years \u2014 in honor of the NCAA Tournament, Above the Law runs a law-related bracket competition. We\u2019ve crowned the Worst Law School in America<\/a>. We\u2019ve identified the Greatest Work of Legal Fiction<\/a>. This year, we\u2019re going somewhere new. And by \u201cnew,\u201d I mean \u201cdepressingly of the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

In January, we declared that the profession \u2014 for its own good \u2014 must immediately and fiercely press licensing authorities to pursue discipline against the Trump administration\u2019s lawyers. Disbar them all<\/a>\u2026 or at least all the ones with even a modicum of decision-making authority. The administration\u2019s lawyers have already been caught lying or otherwise misleading tribunals across the country<\/a>. They have signed off on defying court orders<\/a>. They\u2019ve breached basic rules of prosecutorial responsibility<\/a>. Expansive conceptions of immunity mean there is no other recourse to hold these lawyers accountable other than for the state officials to hold these lawyers to their professional and ethical responsibilities. And, if the allegations prove true, protect the public by revoking their licenses. So, the question is\u2026<\/p>\n

Which Trump administration lawyer most deserves bar discipline?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Department of Justice understands that the profession itself is the last remaining check on its lawlessness. That\u2019s why Pam Bondi just proposed a rule to circumvent clear statutory text<\/em> and block state bar authorities from investigating any current OR FORMER government lawyer<\/a>. Under the proposed rule, Bondi can unilaterally stop a state from probing a government lawyer\u2019s ethical breaches and prevent that investigation indefinitely until the Justice Department itself chooses<\/em> to allow the state investigation. <\/p>\n

If you\u2019d like to comment on this rule\u2026 here you go<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For now, we can satisfy our professional obligations by voting in a series of polls to crown a bracket champion. <\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how this works. We\u2019ve seeded 16 current and former administration lawyers into a bracket with four regions. Each region is named after a Trumpworld legal luminary of the past. We pay homage to the legal minds whose professional \u2014 for lack of a better term, judgment<\/em>? \u2014 inspired and continues to inspire this regime.<\/p>\n

The regions are:<\/p>\n

The Roy Cohn Region<\/strong> \u2014 Named for infamous Trump\u2019s mentor<\/a>. A man who managed to leave his despicable mark on the country as the actual bridge<\/em> between Joe McCarthy and Donald Trump. <\/p>\n

The Rudy Giuliani Region<\/strong> \u2014 From America\u2019s mayor to disbarred<\/a> with a detour through the parking lot of Four Seasons Total Landscaping. Never forget, indeed!<\/em><\/p>\n

The John Eastman Region<\/strong> \u2014 The Clarence Thomas clerk behind Trump\u2019s final January 6 stratagem<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Stephen Miller Region<\/strong> \u2014 The man behind America First Legal is not, in fact, a lawyer. But the current shadow president never stopped him from treating the law as a hustle for attention<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Today, we unveil the first two regions today. One in this post, one in a post this afternoon. Tomorrow, we\u2019ll roll out the other half of the bracket. Lawyers will advance based on reader polls, in which we ask you which lawyer is most deserving of bar discipline. You can define \u201cmost deserving\u201d however you choose \u2014 severity of misconduct, brazenness, incompetence, or simply the gap between what they did and what the profession demands.<\/p>\n

Voting is open until Monday at 7:59 p.m. Eastern.<\/p>\n

\n

THE ROY COHN REGION<\/h2>\n
\"\"
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Simpsons<\/em> parodied the old Paul Harvey biographical routine with the above clip in 1994 and it\u2019s still dead on. Roy Cohn was scum. He was disbarred five weeks before he died, which was already 38 or so years too late.<\/p>\n

\n

(1) Pam Bondi vs. (4) James Percival<\/h3>\n

1. Pam Bondi, Attorney General of the United States (Stetson University College of Law)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Where do you even start? More than 70 lawyers and former judges \u2014 including two former justices of the Florida Supreme Court \u2014 filed an ethics complaint asking the Florida Bar to investigate whether Bondi pressured DOJ lawyers to violate their ethical obligations. The Florida Bar declined and the state supreme court rubberstamped a novel theory that constitutional officers are exempt from investigation while in office<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Bondi fired career DOJ attorney Erez Reuveni<\/a> for the sin of telling a federal judge the truth \u2014 that the government had erroneously deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Bondi said Reuveni failed to \u201czealously advocate\u201d when the career lawyer declined to advance a knowingly false claim in court. The message Pam Bondi wanted every DOJ lawyer to understand: lie or be fired.<\/p>\n

Just another day in Trump\u2019s personal law firm<\/a>. Oh, and there\u2019s that lingering question about her brother\u2019s string of successes against her DOJ<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And then there\u2019s that aforementioned proposed rule<\/a>. Bondi wants full authority to block investigations into government lawyers. The Fox News is indeed guarding the henhouse.<\/p>\n

4. James Percival, General Counsel, Department of Homeland Security (University of Virginia School of Law)<\/strong><\/p>\n

You might not know his name, but you should. While a \u201csenior advisor\u201d at DHS, Percival was neck deep in the persecution \u2014 and that\u2019s not a typo \u2014 of Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Take it away, The New Republic<\/em><\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cCan we say the following?\u201d Percival asked, then listed several things he\u2019d like the administration to say about Abrego Garcia, one being: \u201cThis guy is a leader of MS-13.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we can get a declaration to that effect, yes,\u201d Reuveni answered. This meant the assertion\u00a0could not<\/em>\u00a0be made without a facts-and-evidence-based declaration from ICE on Abrego Garcia\u2019s status.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Percival would later go on to ask if lawyers could assert to the court that Abrego Garcia was not \u201cin immediate danger\u201d in the El Salvadoran slave labor camp the Trump administration sent him to. On the one hand, there\u2019s room for a manager at a distance to the facts to ask questions. On the other hand, this was all after everyone understood that Abrego Garcia had been sent to El Salvador by mistake and the rules of professional responsibility do not cover spin.<\/p>\n

VOTE HERE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

(2) Ed Martin vs. (3) Brendan Carr<\/h3>\n

2. Ed Martin, DOJ Pardon Attorney \/ Weaponization Working Group (St. Louis University)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ed Martin is a gift that keeps on giving, provided the gift you wanted was a shit sandwich of dubious professional judgment<\/a>. Even the Republican-controlled Senate couldn\u2019t stomach confirming him as D.C.\u2019s U.S. Attorney \u2014 and when Judge Jeanine is your glow up, you know you\u2019re in trouble. But that didn\u2019t stop the administration from finding him work.<\/p>\n

The D.C. Office of Disciplinary Counsel has now filed formal ethics charges<\/a> against Martin for threatening Georgetown Law over its DEI curriculum while serving as interim U.S. Attorney. Georgetown\u2019s Dean told him to pound sand<\/a>. But the underlying conduct \u2014 using federal prosecutorial authority to coerce political concessions \u2014 is a textbook First Amendment violation dressed up in a demand letter.<\/p>\n

When the disciplinary office came calling, Martin didn\u2019t respond. Instead, he fired off ex parte<\/em> letters to the chief judge of the D.C. Court of Appeals<\/a>. While copying the White House Counsel. It\u2019s sort of like getting pulled over for speeding and calling the governor.<\/p>\n

Martin has spent his time in government service: dropping federal charges against his own former client<\/a>, leaking grand jury material<\/a>, and admitting he\u2019d use DOJ to harass people he couldn\u2019t actually charge<\/a>. His attempted case against NY AG Letitia James was so bad he dressed up like Inspector Gadget<\/a> and took pictures outside her home to intimidate her into making a deal\u2026 I guess?<\/p>\n

3. Brendan Carr, FCC Chairman (Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law) <\/strong><\/p>\n

Carr sees his role as broadcasting\u2019s chief regulator as cover for punishing political speech the president doesn\u2019t like. Multiple bar complaints from the Freedom of Press Foundation and Campaign for Accountability allege Carr weaponized FCC authority to threaten broadcasters over their news coverage, pressured CBS into settling Trump\u2019s personal lawsuit, and tried to get ABC to fire Jimmy Kimmel. The latter move earned a state bar rebuke that the misconduct was \u2014 weirdly \u2014 too obvious to justify further action<\/a>. Most recently, he\u2019s threatened to revoke broadcast licenses over negative news coverage of the Iran war.<\/p>\n

Ted Cruz \u2014 Ted Cruz! \u2014 called Carr\u2019s conduct \u201cdangerous as hell\u201d and compared it to a mafia extortion scheme. When you\u2019ve lost Ted Cruz on the question of whether something is too authoritarian, you\u2019ve accomplished something genuinely remarkable.<\/p>\n

VOTE HERE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n

Polls are open now. Voting will continue through Monday at 7:59 p.m. Eastern. Get in there and vote.<\/p>\n

The post Which Trump Administration Lawyer Most Deserves To Lose Their License? An ATL Madness Bracket<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Every year \u2014 or at least most years \u2014 in honor of the NCAA Tournament, Above the Law runs a law-related bracket competition. We\u2019ve crowned the Worst Law School in America. We\u2019ve identified the Greatest Work of Legal Fiction. This year, we\u2019re going somewhere new. And by \u201cnew,\u201d I mean \u201cdepressingly of the moment.\u201d In […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":146432,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-146453","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-above_the_law"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xira.com\/p\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Screenshot-2026-03-19-at-12.19.03-AM-kSlykr.png?fit=910%2C360&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146453","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=146453"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146453\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/146432"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=146453"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=146453"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=146453"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}