Charles “Cully” Stimson, a Pentagon official, is a former prosecutor and defense lawyer, and therefore should know better. Nevertheless, last week he decided to shoot his mouth off about some large, prestigious law firms who do pro bono work for, if you can believe it, people who can’t afford lawyers–specifically, Guantanamo detainees. Such law firms, Stimson said, ought to be boycotted by their Fortune 500 clients and, even worse, probably rely on Sinister Funding Sources. Stimson also appears to have “>fed this story to that bastions of paleoconservativism, the Wall Street Journal editorial page. (One would call them ‘knuckledraggers’ except that they probably hire servants to drag their knuckles for them.)
I doubt Stimson thought much other than this would get him a double play with the conservatives: bash (other) lawyers and Gitmo-huggers! Unfortunately, he forgot that the law firms he was bashing were, well, law firms. Big, respectable law firms that represent big, Fortune 500 companies and have big, monied connections to the business world and to the Republican party.
The apology was humorous: Stimson said he never meant to bash these law firms, although that’s exactly what he did, and that his statements do not reflect his “core beliefs”. Which is either a flat-out lie, or an admission that he didn’t believe a word that came out of his mouth and it was all fabricated for personal gain.
When even the White House tells you to leave the lawyers alone, you know you’re the last rat on a sinking ship.
Update: FindLaw Writ commentary by Vikram Amar.
