It’s been about a month since I introduced the “DOJ-in-Exile” idea. So I wanted to give you an update on my progress getting it off the ground. First of all, I got quite a lot of interest and excitement from a lot of TPM Readers who were interested in being involved in some fashion. I also got, in response to I think one passing mention about looking for funds, a number of soft commitments in the 5- or 6-figure range. “Commitments” slightly overstates it. I wasn’t trying to discuss anything at that level. I was just interested in hearing about general interest and willingness. Based on those conversations I thought that even from the small group of people I was in touch with, there was likely at least a few hundred thousand of funding available. That’s a pretty good start on the funding front from such a low-key ask.
Everything I’ve seen over the last month just drives home to me how much this project is necessary. But there have been some challenges. First is simply limits on my own time, a reality I’ve had difficulty coming to grips with through most of my professional life. There are also inherent challenges in trying to find a group to launch a project as opposed to launching it yourself. I know how to do the latter thing; the former is vaguer and more complicated, especially if you’re focused on having it done in a certain way. Deciding that a specific number of things need to be done — I can do that. Coalescing a group of people who will take on the project? That’s a bit more challenging.
Finally, the idea certainly runs into at least a bit of what I discussed on Tuesday about the Great Quieting. This involves tangling with a lot of powerful and bad people. That’s scary. It’s dangerous. There’s no question about that. I’ve definitely felt that overlay of fear and risk-aversion in a number of the conversations I’ve had about the idea, even from those who are most excited and eager to do it. Really, it impacts even me. I don’t have time to run this project along with my TPM responsibilities. But with TPM, in this environment, I’m already carrying and managing a fair amount of risk for myself, my family and those who work for TPM. I need to factor those responsibilities in with anything else I take on.
Now, with all this said, I’m far from giving up on the idea. As I said, I think it’s even more important today than when I first proposed it. As I’ve expressed to a few people over the last month, there’s an importance to this that goes beyond setting things up for a future administration, creating some deterrent and more. The current hiatus from the function of the law for supporters of the White House has a reality distorting impact on the society at large. If the law isn’t functioning, it’s very hard to remember that it even exists. We have too great a human impulse to square our assumptions with the observed reality we see around us. I’ve compared it to an instrument panel for a pilot under instrument flight rules. When you’re flying in the fog or stormy weather under IFR you’re taught to totally disregard your sensory input. You don’t know whether you’re right-side-up or upside-down, whether you’re ascending or descending. That leads pilots to stall or fly into the ground. You watch the instruments. They’re right. Your sensory perceptions are wrong. That is a critical function of this effort, that stabilizing, reality-reminding function of a societal instrument panel. It is a tool to combat the society-wide illusion that is a central feature of Trumpism. The law still exists even if it’s temporarily not being enforced. The non-enforcement is itself a criminal act.
One additional point I picked up from a number of conversations: Elon Musk faces a lot more directly criminal exposure himself than I’d considered, much of it tied to federal criminal conflict of interest law. And the statute of limitations runs five years. So that’s interesting.
That’s my update. I’m still very interested in hearing from people who are interested in participating or funding the project. You can contact me at our regular email or through one of my encrypted channels above and below this post.
