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65 Project

Website:

the65project.com/
Type:

Legal Advocacy Group
Formation:

2022
Managing Director:

Michael Teter

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The 65 Project is a campaign targeting lawyers who aided attempts by then-President Donald Trump and his supporters to overturn the 2020 election results using advertisements, threats of disbarment, and changing rules within the American Bar Association, ostensibly to deter future similar efforts. 1

The 65 Project was “devised” by Democratic consultant and former Clinton administration official Melissa Moss. It is a project of Law Works, a group with no website or public financial disclosures. 2 LawWorks has previously received grants from public policy-oriented foundation Democracy Fund and is a fiscal project of the Franklin Education Forum, a nonprofit organization that provides training and support to, “advance and broaden the appeal of the progressive cause.” 3 4

The name “65 Project” refers to the number of lawsuits filed by supporters of President Donald Trump to overturn the 2020 presidential election. 1

Mission

The 65 Project was launched to punish lawyers who supported President Trump and to dissuade future attempts to overturn elections on illegitimate grounds. 5 2

According to the 65 Project, then-President Trump and a group of lawyers attempted to steal the 2020 presidential election by filing dozens of false lawsuits to disrupt the electoral process and permit Trump or his sympathizers to use their power to overturn the election results. The 65 Project refers to these lawyers as the “army of Big Lie Lawyers,” a reference to the concept of a lie so ostentatious that people doubt it could be credibly fabricated, a principle credited to Second World War-era Nazi propaganda. 5

Campaign

In March 2022, the 65 Project launched by filing ethics complaints against 10 lawyers who worked on lawsuits to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in favor of Trump. The group seeks to disbar 111 lawyers from 26 states in total. The targeted lawyers include President Trump’s legal advisors such as Sidney Powell and Jenna Ellis, lawyers who were purported “alternate electors” for Trump, and attorneys who allegedly supported the January 6, 2021 storming of the U.S. Capitol. 2

The group will air ads in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, all battleground states. The 65 Project will also encourage the American Bar Association to codify rules banning frivolous attempts to overturn elections. 2

The 65 Project expressed plans to spend $2.5 million on its campaign in its first year. 2

2024 Presidential Election

In September 2024, 65 Project began launching a series of advertisements within legal journals published in key swing states leading up to the 2024 Presidential Election urging lawyers not to bring up or issue false charges for a client. One ad read, “Don’t risk your law license by joining an effort to subvert democracy[w]e — and the public — are watching.” 6 Another ad stated, ““Don’t lose your law license because of Trump.” 6 Several key states where online and in-print versions of the ads were published include Wisconsin, Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. 65 Project managing director Michael Teter commented on the group’s ad campaign by claiming, “[l]awyers should know they’re risking their law licenses if they try to overturn free and fair elections.” 6 Right-of-center legal advocacy group America First Legal (AFL) responded to the ads by claiming they “appear to seek to intimidate lawyers who might be inclined to represent President Trump in the future from doing so.” 7

Criticisms

Though the 65 Project claims to be bipartisan, 1 it is not targeting any Democratic-aligned attorneys who have challenged election laws or results in the past, and is advised exclusively by Democrats and Democratic allies. Texas attorney Paul Davis has described the project as “a desperate attempt by leftist hacks and mercenaries” and an effort “to neutralize anyone on the right with the ability to stand in the way of the left’s efforts to hide malfeasance in the 2020 elections and to clear the path for a repeat of similar malfeasance in the 2022 mid-terms.” 2

In October 2024, America First Legal (AFL) issued a bar complaint against 65 Project managing director Michael Teter over claims he abused the attorney grievance process, “to seek misconduct sanctions against lawyers associated with President Trump.” 7 The complaint was filed on behalf of Stefan Passantino, who represented Cassidy Hutchinson prior to her testimony in front of the House Select Committee on January 6. In February 2023 Teter accused Passantino of “providing deficient representation” to Hutchinson and further claimed Passantino attempted, “to obstruct the Select Committee’s inquiry to uncover the full context of the January 6 attack on our nation’s Capitol.” 7 Further accusations included claims of Passantino breaching confidentiality and attempting to convince Hutchinson to perjure herself. The official AFL complaint accused Teter of possibly violating Rule 8.4 of the Utah Rules of Professional Conduct by, “engaging in conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice by seeking to punish lawyers associated with a single client.” 7 The complaint also accused Teter of possibly violating Rule 301 of the Rules Governing the Utah State Bar by “abusing the attorney grievance process to create a “culture of deterrence” and ascribing class-wide misconduct against anyone who seeks to represent President Donald J. Trump, and by seeking sanctions for an improper purpose—namely, based on their representation or affiliation with President Trump.” 7

Leadership

Attorney Michael Teter is the managing director of the 65 Project as of 2024. He was previously a general counsel for Represent.Us, a left-of-center campaign finance regulation advocacy group, and he was an assistant attorney general in Utah. From 2006-2008, Teter was a litigation associate with Perkins Coie, a law firm with close ties to the Democratic National Committee. He worked as the Wisconsin state field director for the presidential campaign of John Kerry (D-MA) and managed the Senatorial campaign of former Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI). Early in his career, Teter served as the deputy finance director of the California Democratic Party. 8

The 65 Project’s Senior Advisor is Melissa Moss. She serves as president of Moss Advisors and was the founder of legal group Law Works. Prior to this, she served as senior vice president of the Capitol Guardian Trust Company, was the president and CEO of the Women Consumer Network, and previously worked within the Clinton Administration. In addition, she served as the finance director for the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and was the first national field director for the Democratic Leadership Council. 9 David Brock previously served as senior advisor prior to Moss. Brock was the founder of Media Matters for America and American Bridge 21st Century. 2

David Fink previously served as an advisor to the 65 Project. Previously a lawyer based in Detroit, in 2022 he persuaded a judge to sanction nine lawyers involved in the “Kraken” lawsuit, including Sidney Powell and Lin Wood. David’s son, Nathan Fink, was a former advisor to 65 Project as well. 10 1

The 65 Project’s advisory board includes former Department of Homeland Security official Paul Rosenzweig, former Utah Supreme Court Chief Justice Christine Durham, former American Bar Association (ABA) president Roberta Cooper Ramo, Doherty Chair in Legal Ethics at the University of Houston Rene Knake Jefferson, and former U.S Acting Attorney General during the Clinton Administration Stuart Gerson. 9

References

  1. Klasfeld, Adam. “Advocacy Group Files Wave of Ethics Complaints Against Jenna Ellis and Other ‘Big Lie Lawyers’ Who Tried to Overturn Election for Trump.” Law and Crime. March 7, 2022. Accessed March 8, 2022. https://lawandcrime.com/2020-election/advocacy-group-files-wave-of-ethics-complaints-against-jenna-ellis-and-other-big-lie-lawyers-who-tried-to-overturn-election-for-trump/.
  2. Markay, Lachlan; Swan, Jonathan. “Scoop: High-powered group targets Trump lawyers’ livelihoods.” Axios. March 7, 2022. Accessed March 8, 2022. https://www.axios.com/trump-election-lawyers-disbar-5c2b9252-d15d-495f-a759-2446d9fa62e8.html
  3. “LawWorks.” Democracy Fund, Accessed February 21, 2023. https://democracyfund.org/grant/lawworks/
  4. “Franklin Education Forum.” The Bauman Foundation, Accessed February 21, 2023. https://www.baumanfoundation.org/grantee/223
  5. “Our Mission.” The 65 Project. Accessed March 8, 2022. https://the65project.com/.
  6. Feuer, Alan. “Legal Watchdog Group Warns Pro-Trump Lawyers Against Subverting Democracy in November.” New York Times, September 19, 2024. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/19/us/politics/trump-lawyers-election-results.html
  7. “America First Legal Fights Back Against Leftist ‘Lawfare,’ Files Bar Complaint Against 65 Project Director for Abusing the Attorney Grievance Process to Target Lawyers Affiliated with President Trump.” America First Legal, October 28, 2024. https://aflegal.org/america-first-legal-fights-back-against-leftist-lawfare-files-bar-complaint-against-65-project-director-for-abusing-the-attorney-grievance-process-to-target-lawyers-affiliated-with/
  8. Michael Teter.” LinkedIn. Accessed March 8, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-teter-7b0a8a1a2/.
  9. “About.” 65 Project, Accessed November 5, 2024. https://the65project.com/about/
  10. “About Us.” 65 Project, Accessed February 21, 2023. https://the65project.com/about/
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