By: Jeffrey Winograd
Marc Elias’s partisan legal career may appear to glitter like gold but even a cursory examination reveals his legal ethics are, at best, dubious.
In fact, Elias likely has done irreparable harm to the United States of America.
Who is this guy?
In short, he was the paymaster behind the “Steele dossier” and the architect of the “Vote by Mail” ploy that seemingly has stolen reelection from President Donald Trump.
Elias’s Public Face
Elias is a partner in the Seattle-based law firm of Perkins Coie and serves as the chair of its Political Law Group. As described on the firm’s website:
“Marc represents dozens of U.S. senators, governors, representatives and their campaigns as well as the Democratic National Committee, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, National Democratic Redistricting Committee, Priorities USA, Senate Majority PAC and House Majority PAC. Marc served as general counsel to Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign in 2016 and John Kerry’s presidential campaign in 2004.”
In his various capacities, Elias, who is situated in Washington, D.C., is heavily involved in fighting lawsuits challenging the results of the presidential elections in key battleground states.
He poses as the virtuous protector of the voting rights of the downtrodden masses who have succumbed to COVID-19 fear mongering and lack the courage to appear in person to vote.
However, Elias’s true character can be judged by a typical ploy he embraces – accuse a political opponent of the same reprehensible conduct that he, in turn, resorts to. For example, here is an Elias quote that appeared on September 21 in The New Republic:
“Donald Trump has shown a willingness to violate every norm that one associates with the president of the United States, and even the law, in order to advance his political interests, and I expect that between now and the election we will continue to see him do everything he can to win reelection,” Elias told {the reporter]. “And that will include things ranging from using [his] bully pulpit to bad-mouth voting by mail to worse.”
Grilling By House Intelligence Panel
On December 13, 2017, Elias appeared before an executive session of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence to answer questions about his knowledge of and involvement with the Steele dossier.
The Steele dossier was a central element in the contrived Russian collusion hoax ostensibly linking Donald Trump and people in his presidential campaign to Russia. It resulted in the naming of Robert Mueller as special counsel to conduct a far-reaching probe with a hefty price tag.
Under intense questioning by then-Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC), Elias’s lawyer provided him substantial protective cover behind the legal shield of attorney-client privilege and work-product exemption.
However, Elias’s true character shone through at the tail end of the interview while he was being queried by an unidentified questioner.
It was revealed that sometime in late September or early October in 2016, Elias met in his office with Fusion GPS representatives and Christopher Steele. Perkins Coie was paid somewhere between $5 million and $6 million by the Democratic National Committee and the Hillary Clinton campaign for the law firm’s services. Neither the DNC nor the Clinton campaign knew about the meeting, Elias stated.
According to Elias, “a relatively small part [of that money] would involve” Fusion GPS. “Probably about a million dollars,” he added. Elias acknowledged he would have to sign off on those transactions.
In response to a question, Elias stated he “did not direct” Steele to the specific media outlets he was sent to but he “was aware of it.”
The exchanges that followed speak for themselves:
Q. You could have also told them not to do it?
MR. ELIAS: Hypothetically, yes.
Q. Why did you not stop Mr. Steele from speaking to media in the fall of 2016 after he was in your Washington, D.C., law offices?
MR. ELIAS: I thought that the information that – I thought that the information that he or they wished to convey was accurate and important.
Q. So the information that Fusion GPS and Christopher Steele wished to portray to the media in the fall of 2016 at that time, you thought, was accurate and important?
MR. ELIAS: As I understand it.
Q. As you understood it. Sitting here today, do you still consider that information that was relayed to the media in the fall of 2016 after the meeting in your law offices to be accurate and important?
MR. ELIAS: Yes.
Q. Have you had the opportunity to verify it independently?
MR. ELIAS: No.
Q. So how do you know it’s still accurate and important?
MR. ELIAS: You asked me my opinion.
Q. Was there any information that was accurately portrayed in that dossier that was relayed by Christopher Steele to the media in the fall of 2016?
MR: ELIAS: There were — there was information in it that I was familiar with. There was information in it that I was not familiar with. Some of the information that was in it I think has actually proved true. So, you know, my opinion that it was accurate and important, I think l was right.
Q. Would agree that there’s parts of that dossier that remain unverified to this day?
MY. ELIAS: I assume there are.
A Phony Do-Gooder
On March 18, 2020, in an article penned by Elias titled “Four Pillars To Safeguard Voting Rights With Vote By Mail,” he said:
Increasingly, we are seeing calls for states to adopt no-excuse absentee and vote by mail. This is a very important step in ensuring the right to vote, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
So, it is apparent that from the get-go, Elias saw the COVID-19 situation as his vehicle of choice for achieving the goal of voting by mail, at least in what are considered swing states.
The article appeared in an impressive sounding report called “Safeguarding Our Democracy With Vote By Mail” which appears on a website called Democracy Docket that was created by none other than Elias.
Here is what prominently appears on the website:
Democracy Docket focuses on detecting, highlighting, and combating suppressive voting laws and practices that will have the greatest impact on the outcome of the 2020 elections and which are not otherwise being addressed. Put simply, we spotlight those laws and practices that restrict the right to vote but may not be the most newsworthy.
And what are the so-called “Four Pillars” that Elias considers sacrosanct:
- Postage for mail-in ballots must be free or prepaid by the government.
- Ballots postmarked on or before Election Day must be counted.
- Signature matching laws need to be reformed to protect voters.
- Community organizations should be permitted to help collect and deliver voted, sealed ballots.
It all sounds kosher until one remembers that the devil is in the details.
POSTAGE: This is simply a means to boost voting by individuals who would otherwise not think it was worth the money for a stamp just to vote or even worthwhile to exercise their right to vote by going to a polling place.
POSTMARKS: Place the blame for late delivery on the U.S. Postal Service. “This is simply wrong and unfair to voters who have done everything right but have their ballots thrown out because of delays with the postal service,” Elias wrote. In fact, Democrats made a big stink about this issue while complaining about proposed reforms to postal delivery that were announced several months prior to Election Day. In reality, people who want to vote have ample time to mail their ballots to ensure they will arrive on time.
SIGNATURE MATCHING: Elias would handle this problem as follows: “Absentee ballots with questionable signatures should be reviewed by three election officials. Only if all three find beyond a reasonable doubt that a signature does not match should it be set aside.” Presumably, at least one of the three election officials would be a Democrat and, consequently, this requirement makes the whole matching issue meaningless.
COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS: In plain words, ballot harvesting is an honorable practice and not subject to any abuse such as helping voters complete their ballot. Republicans oppose this as a way to suppress the vote, says Elias, adding that “voters without easy access to secure and reliable outgoing mail, or who need extra help to get their ballots delivered, rely on this practice.”
A Rigged Election?
No doubt that political partisans will view the entire election debacle through red or blue lenses.
It would seem that the growing mountain of vote-related irregularities, if not outright illegalities, warrant prompt, efficient and unbiased investigation by federal law enforcement agencies.
How can anyone forget the photos from the Detroit vote counting center where workers were busy blocking the windows of the rooms where tabulations were being done?
How can anyone ignore affidavits, sworn to under penalty of perjury, of election and postal workers who reported such things as backdating receipt of ballots and instructions not to question a voter’s signature or ask for identification?
How can anyone sweep under the rug that many thousands of people who came to vote were told their mail-in ballot was already recorded and the people stated they had never even received a ballot by mail?
These are just a very brief sampling of serious allegations arising from the 2020 presidential election.
Marc Elias, who has proven to be a master at pulling the wool over the eyes of the American people, said this:
“Vote by mail is always good policy, but right now it is a critical part of democracy.”
Yes, a democracy that Marc Elias has transformed for the worse for evermore.
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Un-American Activities 