THE PORTEOUS IMPEACHMENT CASE STARTS MONDAY

The Senate trial for United States District Court Judge Thomas Porteous begins Monday morning. I will be therefore out of pocket for the coming week and part of next week. Unfortunately, that means that postings will be extremely limited but I expect the denizens of this blog to post stories as comments in my absence. I will try to post a little each day on the schedule for the trial and maybe even a story to facilitate discussion depending if I have a second in the morning.

I am honored to be working with the finest litigation team that I have seen in my career. The law firm of Bryan Cave has joined me in this case pro bono and has (as usual) set a new standard for such cases. Bryan Cave won the ABA award for pro bono work this year. I am proud of my long association with Bryan Cave on cases over the many years. In leading this case, I am joined by my longtime friend and brilliant co-counsel, Dan Schwartz, former general counsel of the National Security Agency. Dan and I have been in many legal fights through the years and I could not imagine walking into the Senate on Monday without his calm and experienced guidance.

Partners John Peirce, Keith Aurzada, and Brian Walsh are also assisting in the case and have brought a wealth of experience to the effort. Keith and Brian are two of the country’s leading bankruptcy lawyers will be addressing those specialized issues at trial. Associates P.J. Meitl and Dan O’Connor have worked every aspect of this case — going around the clock as new evidence comes in on the very eve of trial. They have interviewed countless witnesses, researched countless cases, and helped write countless filings. They have helped build every inch of this case over the last few months and will argue the case with us this week. The Senate is about to see in action two of the best young lawyers in this country — as credit to both the team and Bryan Cave. Ian Barlow (Bryan Cave), Sergey Basyuk (GW), James (Brad) Currier (GW), Chris Crawford (GW), Amber Kahn (GW), Nikki Ott (BC) and Peter Shapiro (GW) are also assisting in the case and have done amazing work to prepare this case for trial. Finally, there is my tireless assistant Ashley Klearman who is keeping the office functioning as we litigate this case.

I have never seen their like in litigation and, while, we have had little sleep or family time in weeks, this historic case for me will always be remembered for their unyielding friendship and dedication.

The trial will be covered from gavel to gavel on CSpan television.

For those in Washington, the trial will be held in Hart Senate Office Building Room 216. It is a public trial with public seating. Opening arguments will start on Monday morning at 8 am. Proceedings will continue Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday and may run to 7 or 8 p.m. The trial will likely resume the following Tuesday at 8 am and be completed in the afternoon.

Jonathan Turley