US Department of Justice lawyers and new anti-corruption firm
It looks like a new law firm, Gaston and Cooney, in Washington DC has emerged to fill a gap that clearly exists in the US presently, mainly two senior lawyers who had been ousted from the US Department of Justice, previously working on the team that had investigated President Trump prior to his election. They decided that they wanted to bring their experience to the private sector, looking to support governmental officials to tackle corruption both nationally and locally. “[Molly} Gaston told CBS News ,"Institutional relationships are crumbling right now. It presents an opportunity and a need for the kind of services that we will provide to impartially and independently give advice and guidance.” Additionally, they are also representing their previous boss, Jack Smith, who brought cases against Mr. Trump prior to his presidency, and has written to Congress that he is willing to testify publicly, and the firm would be there to support him. Finally, they will also represent people who are subjects of investigations, including in congressional probes.
Why is this important and why do we care? As the US Department of Justice has fired many experienced lawyers who worked on corruption cases in government, there is a very large vacuum in governmental public integrity investigations. As the Trump administration has been attempting to intimidate law firms in the US, a firm that looks like it will not be intimidated should be supported and encouraged. The hope is that this will be more of a trend, where law firms begin to support national and local governmental authorities in anti-corruption enforcement.
Links:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ousted-doj-attorneys-who-prosecuted-trump-new-law-firm/