Lawyers Defending American Democracy - LDAD

08/23/2026

Power Transfers Legally & Peacefully 🕊️ 🗳️

📜 The 27th and final grievance in the Declaration of Independence called out King George for exciting "domestic insurrections amongst us." The Founders recognized that democracy cannot survive when a ruler incites violence, turns citizens against one another, and subverts the legal processes that allow people to peacefully express their political preferences.

⏩ Today, our nation's bedrock commitment to the peaceful transfer of power is under direct strain. From granting clemency to over 1,500 January 6th insurrectionists to trying to subvert participation in future elections using tactics like restricting mail-in ballots and threatening the presence of federal agents at polling locations, those in power are using fear and division to weaken public trust in our democratic system.

🇺🇸 American democracy depends on our fundamental right to resolve political differences through the ballot box, dialogue, and deliberation, not through intimidation or violence. In 1776, early Americans refused to let a leader undermine that right; today, We the People must stand together to protect the democracy they fought for.

🔊 Take action to protect free and fair elections as the foundation of the peaceful and legal transfer of power in American democracy. Check out LDAD’s Action Alert on mail-in voting and read our MTM Insights, "Democracy Is in Your Hands," for key information, talking points, and concrete ways you can act to .

🙏 Thank you for following along with these grievance posts, which launched our broader campaign. Revisit previous posts to explore how the lessons of 1776 can guide us today, and look out for more content to come!

08/21/2026

The President’s recently announced nomination of Dr. Heidi Overton to lead the FDA comes at a high-stakes moment for public health and drug safety.

Senators considering her nomination would be well-served to read this article in The Fulcrum that outlines the dangers to the public when the FDA is politicized. Written by distinguished experts in the field in collaboration with LDAD, the article outlines changes already made at the FDA since this administration took office. The list is alarming: “tied certain drug approvals to political considerations through a new, opaque program; imposed labeling changes without new scientific evidence; forced out experienced career scientists; replaced respected experts on advisory panels; and promoted unproven therapies.”

The President's nomination of Overton, his ally and a staunch defender of the MAHA movement, poses a real threat to the integrity of the agency responsible for everything from our food supply to critical medications at a time when it is already under strain.

For more information on how recent changes at the FDA could impact all of us and what needs to be done to protect the integrity of drug regulation, read Blum and Rubin’s full piece “FDA Turmoil: Political Interference Threatens Drug Safety Standards.”

Experts warn that political meddling is eroding FDA standards and endangering consumers.

08/18/2026

Throughout 2026, this country has faced unrelenting challenges to the rule of law and the constitutional, procedural, and substantive principles that are foundational to it. The administration continued to deny due process at scale, targeting the legal profession, the courts, and civil society institutions, while turning the machinery of federal law enforcement against perceived political opponents.

Since our founding in 2019, our mission at LDAD has been to stand up for these principles and to organize and mobilize lawyers and others to do the same.

This mid-year report details the extraordinary work we have undertaken so far in 2026, a period in this country of both accountability and escalation.

In the last seven months, LDAD has filed major new ethics complaints; filed more than a dozen amicus briefs; and launched numerous Action Alerts, our new rapid-response tool to mobilize lawyers and the public to respond to unlawful federal actions as they happen.

Read our mid-year report here: https://ldad.org/letters-briefs/mid-year-review-2026

& Please consider donating to support our continued efforts to defend American democracy.

Throughout 2026, this country has faced unrelenting challenges to the rule of law and the constitutional, procedural, and substantive principles that are foundational to it. The administration continued to deny due process at scale, targeting the legal profession, the courts, and civil society insti...

08/07/2026

No Taxation Without Representation

📜 The 17th grievance in the Declaration of Independence protested King George imposing taxes on colonists without their consent. The Founders saw that democracy is impossible when a single leader has unchecked authority over raising and spending public money.

⏩ Today, Congress’s constitutional "power of the purse" is under severe strain. The President bypassed the legislature to levy unilateral global tariffs, then attempted to find workarounds when the Supreme Court struck them down as unconstitutional. The administration uses DOGE and other executive actions to withhold funds Congress appropriated for specific uses, all while spending millions of dollars in taxpayer money on wars and other priorities of the President.

🪙 The Founders recognized that taxpayers have a fundamental right to be represented in the financial decisions that impact their daily lives. Just as they stood up to ensure the people's voice was protected in these decisions 250 years ago, we must defend our representative democracy today!

✊ Join LDAD 's growing network of volunteers around the country who are all over again. Help us safeguard our Constitution and the principles central to American democracy.

08/05/2026

Retired justice of the New York State Supreme Court and LDAD volunteer Barbara Jaffe's new opinion piece in amny highlights rampant dishonesty at the DOJ & its impacts on justice.

In it, Jaffe poses a critical question: what happens when those sworn to uphold the law misrepresent the facts?

A question to which she worrying replies: "Such misconduct by DOJ lawyers destabilizes the rule of law by rendering outcomes unpredictable and promoting disrespect for the judiciary."

Honesty is the best policy, but the present U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) seems to disagree.

08/04/2026

✍️ In his Bangor Daily News opinion piece "Donald Trump is sabotaging the midterm elections,” our co-State Lead in ME, Michael Millemann, sounds the alarm on this administration's attempts to nationalize election administration using federal agencies like the DOJ, DHS, and Postal Service.

📜 As Millemann points out, the Constitution gives state legislatures, not the executive branch, the power to set election rules. So far, federal courts have enforced this principle, handing voting rights advocates over 100 recent victories against unlawful federal overreach.

🚨 Drawing on his personal history witnessing civil rights battles post-1965, Millemann highlights a dangerous reversal: while past administrations used federal power to protect and expand access to the ballot, the current Trump administration seeks to restrict it. 

🗳️ Read Michael’s full piece & head to our website to explore more volunteer articles, toolkits and Action Alerts that can help YOU too take action in defense of our democracy. Join us in -- be like Mike (Millemann)!

07/31/2026

🚨 URGENT ACTION ALERT: SUBMIT YOUR COMMENT IN OPPOSITION TO THE PROPOSED AI POLICY BY MIDNIGHT TONIGHT! If enacted, the FTC's proposed policy statement would allow the FTC to undermine the right of every state to regulate in ways that minimize biased and discriminatory results.

💢 Without state protections, AI systems in sensitive areas like hiring, insurance, lending, and medical care can rely on historically biased data—producing outcomes that reflect and amplify those exact biases. This proposal isn't just a threat to civil rights; it is federal overreach. By attempting to discourage companies from complying with vital state laws, the FTC is unlawfully stripping states of their constitutional authority to protect their own residents from discriminatory AI.

🔗 Our Action Alert details exactly how this proposed policy violates the law and disrupts the constitutional balance of power. It contains all the information you need to submit your comment and speak out publicly against this policy.

✊ LDAD continues to work every day to protect the rule of law. We can’t do it without you. Join us in , sign up to volunteer now!

07/29/2026

No Armies Among Us in Times of Peace

📜 The 11th grievance in the condemned King George for keeping "Standing Armies" in the colonies during peacetime without the consent of local legislatures. The Founders understood that using an armed military presence to police a civilian population is fundamentally incompatible with a free, democratic society.

⏩ Today, this core principle is being bypassed. The federal government has deployed the across the country over the objections of state governors. Simultaneously, ICE and other federal agencies are executing aggressive operations that contradict state laws. These operations have led to tragic civilian deaths, showing that the presence of armed federal agents in our neighborhoods is a direct threat to our liberty and safety, especially when they act above the law -- ignoring locally elected representatives and constitutional protections.

✊ The Founders recognized the profound dangers of domestic military presence and refused to allow it except under the strictest of circumstances. We cannot look the other way when the Constitution designed specifically to protect us from these dangers is violated.

🇺🇸 Help us expose the risks these anti-constitutional deployments and operations pose to our democracy. Check out LDAD’s Action Alert on the use of force by ICE and other federal agents, along with the MTM Insights and volunteer op-eds on our website, to discover concrete ways YOU can help in as our Founders did before us. {Links in comments below}

🔔 Follow our ongoing series exploring the troubling parallels between the grievances listed in the Declaration of Independence and the actions of the current administration.

07/28/2026

🚨 BREAKING: We filed a formal ethics complaint against Jeanine Pirro, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia with the NY Supreme Court Attorney Grievance Committee. The complaint outlines numerous alleged ethics violations committed across seven high-profile criminal cases.

🚫 The alleged misconduct by Ms. Pirro was made both in her individual capacity and as a supervisor. The misconduct includes improper prejudicial statements made about judges, defendants and criminal investigations.

🔊 "A prosecutor’s primary duty is to seek justice under the law. Baseless prosecutions abuse our judicial system and ruin lives. That’s why it’s so important to hold prosecutors accountable for their ethical violations,” says Ellen Hornstein, an LDAD volunteer and principal author of the complaint.

🔊 LDAD Chair Scott Harshbarger notes: "Prejudicial statements that prejudge guilt undermine the public's confidence in the integrity of the justice system.”

⏰ With the justice system under constant attack by the administration and a DOJ that can no longer be counted on to protect the public interest, state disciplinary rules are critical. These rules protect the public by ensuring lawyers adhere to the highest standards.

No one is above the law. When standards fall, investigation and sanctions are the appropriate response.

🔗 Read the full ethics complaint and press release detailing the allegations on our website.

07/23/2026

The Supreme Court’s recent decision in Watson vs. Republican National Committee reinforced existing law and stated clearly that mail-in ballots *postmarked* by may be counted even if they are received after that day.

🏛️ The Court held that “election-day statutes do not set a deadline for ballot receipt” and only require “the electorate’s choice to be made on election day.”

🚨 The ruling, however, was much closer than it should have been. Instead of a 9-0 decision, four justices refused to acknowledge that the law means what its words say. The fact that the of millions of Americans hinged on a single judge's vote is troubling for our democracy.

🗳️ The decision blocked only one of many ominous efforts by the President and his allies to interfere with the 2026 midterm elections. These efforts, which are intensifying the closer we get to the midterms, were outlined in , a document that continues to serve as the blueprint for this administration’s anti-democratic actions.

🧑‍💻 To learn more about how efforts to undermine our elections are linked to Project 2025 and why we should ALL stay vigilant, please see LDAD’s recent Action Alert, "Stop USPS From Interfering With Mail-In Voting." Hundreds of our volunteers responded to this Alert by submitting comments about the proposed rule.

💫 As always, we invite you to join us in by signing up on our website; & follow this series to stay up-to-date on the judicial decisions impacting American democracy!