-
You come from an area of the law—
-
you made your living
-
in an area of the law—
-
which is very technical.
-
A lot of rules.
-
The rules are very complicated.
-
A lot of dotting of i’s
-
and crossing of t’s.
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And there are many people
-
who become lawyers
-
who find in technicality
-
an escape from morality,
-
that they can say, “Well,
-
I’m following the rules.
-
The rules are written down.
-
It’s not my job to ask
-
whether these rules are just,
-
and it’s not my job to worry
-
too much about
-
whether the outcome is just.
-
I am using these elaborate
-
system of rules
-
for the benefit of my client.”
-
And I wonder if that explains
-
why so many in the,
-
especially New York, legal world
-
have been so vulnerable
-
to the pressures
-
we have seen in the second
-
Trump presidency to
-
pay ransom, to
-
yield—that
-
they can rationalize,
-
“Well, we’re following rules,”
-
and you somehow were not
-
crushed.
-
Your moral sense
-
was not crushed by that.
-
I think it’s something—
-
there's a lot more.
-
There's something
-
a little bit different
-
going on there.
-
I don’t think it’s that people—
-
I think a lot of Americans
-
may feel, “Oh, well,
-
if it looks to be legal
-
and people are saying it’s legal,
-
then it must be okay.”
-
“If the Trump administration says
-
it’s legal …”
-
I think there is a lot of hiding
-
behind the purported legality.
-
I think that’s
-
absolutely the case.
-
I think in the case of lawyers,
-
I think most lawyers have been
-
outraged
-
by the Trump administration.
-
And I think, you know,
-
I think there’s a limit to what
-
people practicing
-
law can do to speak out,
-
because clients don’t necessarily
-
like lawyers
-
who are political activists
-
and being,
-
you know, doing something
-
other than their own work.
-
But,
-
most lawyers are very,
-
very adamant
-
about the Trump
-
administration and
-
its lawlessness.
