Texas State Bar should act soon on Sidney Powell

One by one, the lawyers who helped Donald Trump try to steal the 2020 election are being held accountable.

The most recent example came a few weeks ago. A California judge recommended permanent disbarment for John Eastman for his role in devising so-called legal strategy to overturn the election. The judge faulted Eastman for “exceptionally serious ethical violations,” including false and misleading statements in court filings and public remarks.

Now Texas is on the clock. It’s up to the State Bar to keep the momentum going and make clear that Texas lawyers must uphold the law.

Sidney Powell, a former Trump lawyer who practices in Dallas, is probably best known for her wild, conspiratorial statements after the 2020 election. She infamously promised to “release the Kraken,” an onslaught of litigation that would supposedly prove Trump was the rightful winner.

The bar is already familiar with Powell’s antics. It accused her of misconduct two years ago for filing frivolous lawsuits against four states after the 2020 election. That disciplinary matter was an important starting point, and it is still active before an appeals court.

But Powell’s misconduct wasn’t limited to frivolous lawsuits, and the bar’s efforts at accountability can’t stop there. Powell has now admitted she broke the law in Georgia in 2020. So the bar’s disciplinary counsel must open new proceedings, seeking sanctions against her up to disbarment.

Last October, Powell pleaded guilty to six counts of conspiracy arising from Trump’s attempt to overturn Georgia’s election results. According to a grand jury indictment, Powell directed others to break into election equipment and steal software, ballot images and personal voter information.

As part of a plea deal, Powell agreed to serve six years of probation, pay a fine and restitution, and apologize to the people of Georgia. (She fulfilled this requirement with the absolute minimum — a single handwritten sentence.)

But that’s not the end of the matter. By committing crimes in Georgia, Powell also violated the ethical standards that all Texas lawyers are bound to uphold.

Four of the six counts, covering conspiracy involving the theft of property, are classified under Texas law as “intentional” and “serious.” When a lawyer commits such a crime, Texas’ rules for attorney conduct say the State Bar must seek professional discipline.

These rules exist for a good reason. Lawyers have special responsibilities in our democracy. They’re not just advocates for their clients. As the Texas attorney conduct rules say, lawyers “play a vital role in the preservation of society.” They are guardians of the law itself.

That is one reason prominent voices urged the bar to move quickly after Powell pleaded guilty. A group of Texas lawyers, including three past presidents of the bar, noted in an open letter that Powell tried to thwart the will of Georgia voters. “In a democracy,” they wrote, “few crimes are more consequential.”

And two organizations, the States United Democracy Center and Lawyers Defending American Democracy, asked the bar’s Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel to open new proceedings to disbar Powell altogether. Prominent Texas legal experts, former Republican state officials, and former White House ethics advisers from both parties joined that request.

So far, though, the Texas State Bar has taken no action to address Powell’s criminal conduct in Georgia.

This is no time for delay. State bar disciplinary authorities across the country, clearly understanding the stakes, are drawing a line against lawyers who took part in Trump’s plot.

Rudy Giuliani is facing potential disbarment in the District of Columbia after having his license suspended there and in New York. Jeffrey Clark faces similar sanctions for using his role in the Justice Department to attempt to undermine the 2020 election results. In Colorado, the office that regulates attorney misconduct filed four disciplinary claims against Jenna Ellis after she admitted she helped promote election lies to Georgia legislators.

So why the delay in Powell’s case here in Texas? The bar has already moved against her once before for misconduct. This decision should be straightforward: She admits she broke the law, and the crimes were intentional and serious. The bar must open a new disciplinary action.

If we believe in the rule of law, and if we believe that elections are decided by the will of the people, then the lawyers who took part in Trump’s unlawful scheme to stay in power, and thereby violated their ethical duties, must be held accountable.

There’s never been a more important time to enforce the obligations that all lawyers in Texas are required to uphold.

It’s well past time for the State Bar to act.

James C. Harrington is the retired founder of the Texas Civil Rights Project and a former adjunct professor at the University of Texas School of Law. Gillian Feiner is senior counsel at the States United Democracy Center. Lauren Stiller Rikleen is executive director and board member of Lawyers Defending American Democracy.

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