Closing in on a week before Election Day, a lawyer is pushing state leaders to take legal action to prevent President Donald Trump from interfering in the midterms.
Lawyer Kevin K. Johnson wants a lawsuit filed before the midterms to get a court order that would block Trump from disrupting the election or interfering with the official approval of the results — before he has the chance to even try.
Anticipatory injunctive relief would aim to stop the immediate threat of Trump's interference from happening via a court order. Such a legal action intends to prevent damage before a formal hearing takes place and adds weight to any violation of the order by Trump, strengthening a potential case against him and possibly leading to more severe punishment.
“You get an order which says do not, Mr. Trump, directly or indirectly interfere to any degree with the state's administration of the elections,” said Johnson, a civil and appellate trial lawyer in California who’s successfully sued major corporations and the government.
“You have that big umbrella statement basically that just says whatever other strategies you have, whatever pivots you have, whatever creative ideas you have, if your intent is going to be to interfere with the administration of the elections by the state, you are barred from doing it.”
Rather than wait to file lawsuits until Election Day, or after, Johnson encourages a preemptive lawsuit since Trump has already sowed doubts in “election integrity” and appears poised to claim foreign interference in the election.
“Everybody is just playing defense … which I think is just a huge mistake because every time he gets stopped, he pivots and goes someplace else, or he ignores a court order, or he delays complying with a court order,” Johnson said.
“There are so many things that he can do to just freeze up the system by just preemptively seizing ballots or whatever, and once the ballots are seized in, say, for example, most of the competitive congressional districts, he literally is in a position to have stopped the process for an indefinite period of time.”
Johnson said leaders in blue states could take on such a lawsuit, like Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson or California Attorney General Rob Bonta.
On Thursday, Pritzker called out Trump on X in response to news reports of the Department of Justice sending "election monitors" to two Democratic counties in Indiana.
"The Trump administration is on notice: Governors across this country — myself included — are watching closely," Pritzker posted.
"Any attempt to silence Americans' voices will be met with fierce resistance from the states. We WILL defend the right to vote."
In response to Raw Story's questions, a spokesperson from Pritzker's office emailed a statement.
"The State of Illinois will hold a free and fair election that is safe, accessible and secure — just like every election cycle before," the spokesperson said.
"The Illinois State Board of Elections is constantly collecting information, providing educational materials and programs, and collaborating closely with all 108 state election authorities to equip election workers with comprehensive trainings and resources, and to ensure Illinois citizens can make their voices heard."
Neither the Chicago mayor's office nor Bonta's offices immediately responded to Raw Story’s request for comment.
'You're out'
Injunctive relief would not just be beneficial in relation to the midterms but also in anticipation for January 3, when the new Congress is sworn in, Johnson said.
An “expansive injunctive relief request” would be a safeguard if another insurrection attempt were to happen as seen on Jan. 6, 2021, when a mob of Trump supporters became violent and attempted to block certification of electoral votes, he said.
“You’re going to need the same thing when it comes to January 3. Basically, do not interfere directly or indirectly with the seating of these people, and so hopefully that has an effect on [Trump],” Johnson said.
“If you have an order like that and he violates it, then you have an additional leg up in terms of getting a court to really bring the hammer down on him, in terms of the remedy you want, i.e., you breach your employment contract. It's a material breach. You're out.”
Johnson has been advocating for a bigger picture legal strategy to ultimately remove Trump from office based on violations of his oath of office under employment and contract law, which he outlines in his book, “The American Oath Project: Protecting the Backbone of Democracy.”
Gary Lucks, an attorney and activist in California, wrote the book, “We Are the Power To Win the Future: Mobilize to Defend Democracy,” to offer a “roadmap” for how Democrats can take back control from Trump and is a companion to Johnson's book.
Johnson and Lucks have partnered to find supporters to take legal action against Trump.
“The longer play is post-election opportunity to remove Trump from office, regardless of the election outcome,” Lucks said. “It's time for us to really put pressure on him to leave.”
