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Benjamin Ginsberg

Nationality:

American
Position(s):

Co-Founder, Election Official Legal Defense Network

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Benjamin Ginsberg is an American lawyer historically aligned with the Republican Party, having done work for the presidential campaigns of President George W. Bush and former Massachusetts Governor (and later U.S. Senator from Utah) Mitt Romney (R). Ginsberg has been described as “the most prominent Republican lawyer who has litigated in the election field.” 1

In 2016, Ginsberg began to drift away from the Republican Party following the nomination of Donald Trump. He became an outspoken opponent of then-President Trump before, during, and after the 2020 election, when he criticized the then-president’s claims of widespread voter fraud during the election. 2

Career

In 1974, Benjamin Ginsberg earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania. He then started his career as a journalist working at the Boston Globe, the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, the Berkshire Eagle, and the Riverside Press-Enterprise. 3 4

In 1982, Ginsberg earned his law degree from Georgetown University. After graduating, he worked as counsel to the Republican Party for eight years. He appeared on television news networks as a Republican pundit often throughout the 1980s and 1990s. He often criticized President Bill Clinton, particularly regarding the Monica Lewinsky scandal. In 1993, Ginsberg joined Patton Boggs, one of the largest law firms in the world, and retained a role with the organization until 2014. 5 6 7

In 2000 and then in 2004, Ginsberg served as national counsel for the presidential campaigns of President George W. Bush. Ginsberg played a major role in the controversial 2000 presidential election recount in Florida, and Ginsberg has maintained that President Bush won the Florida vote. He has criticized the HBO film Recount, which depicts Ginsberg as misrepresenting the events of the recount, although he has praised the movie for accurately portraying the excitement and tension of the ordeal. 8 9 10

During the 2004 election, Ginsberg helped organize the Bush campaign’s attack on then-U.S. Senator John Kerry‘s (D-MA) military record. 11

In 2008 and then in 2012, Ginsberg served as counsel to the unsuccessful presidential campaigns of former Massachusetts Governor (and later U.S. Senator from Utah) Mitt Romney (R). 12 13

From 2014 to 2020, Ginsberg was a partner at Jones Day, a law firm that has worked on Republican presidential campaigns. 14

In 2016, Ginsberg was a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. 15

In 2021, Ginsberg co-founded the Election Official Legal Defense Network, a network of lawyers that provide pro-Bono services to election officials. Ginsberg is the organization’s co-chair. 16

Ginsberg is a Volker Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution. 17 He is also a co-chair of Pillars of the Community. 18

Ginsberg has served on the Presidential Commission on Election Administration in the U.S. Election Assistance Commission numerous times. 19 20

Opposition to President Donald Trump

Despite his long-standing support for the Republican Party, Benjamin Ginsberg began to voice opposition to the party’s then-presidential nominee Donald Trump and the Republican Party more broadly in 2016. 21

Prior to the 2020 elections, Ginsburg wrote an op-ed advocating for safety measures for voting during the COVID-19 pandemic. A few days before the election, he criticized then-President Trump’s claims about election fraud and wrote that the Republican Party was “destroying itself on the altar of Trump.” 22

From 2014 to 2020, Ginsberg was a partner at Jones Day, which worked on President Trump’s presidential campaigns in 2016 and 2020. Ginsberg reportedly left the firm over his disillusionment with then-President Trump. Prior to leaving, Ginsberg brought up concerns to his colleagues regarding then-President Trump, including that his language was “beyond the pale.” 23

After the election, Ginsberg co-founded the Election Official Legal Defense Network to support election officials against claims of fraud in the 2020 election. He has stated in testimonies and op-eds that the election was secure, free, and fair, and that former President Trump’s claims of widespread voter fraud are unfounded. 24 25

In December 2021, Ginsberg called for reforms to the Electoral Count Act, an 1887 law that determines the procedure for how Congress counts Electoral College votes. In its current form, the Act grants powers to the Vice President to oversee the vote counting process; during the 2020 election, then-President Trump asked then-Vice President Mike Pence to step into the process to support the then-president. Ginsberg claimed the Act is not only arbitrary but could be used by Democrats or Republicans to manipulate the voting process. 26

In June 2022, Ginsberg testified before the U.S. House’s Committee on the January 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol. Ginsberg testified that there was no systemic voter fraud during the 2020 election. Ginsberg stated: “I’ve looked at the more than 60 [cases] that include more than 180 counts and no. The simple fact is that the Trump campaign did not make its case.” 27

References

  1. Pierce, Charles P. “How Did the Florida 2000 Ratf*ck Not Come Up While This Guy Was Testifying?” Esquire. June 13, 2022. Accessed May 13, 2024. https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a40278024/january-6-committee-benjamin-ginsberg-florida-recount-2000/.
  2. Epstein, Reid J. “Benjamin Ginsberg, an election lawyer, has been one of Trump’s foremost Republican critics.” New York Times. June 13, 2022. Accessed May 13, 2024. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/13/us/benjamin-ginsberg-trump-election-lawyer.html.
  3. “Benjamin Ginsberg.” Hoover Institution. Accessed May 13, 2024. https://www.hoover.org/profiles/benjamin-ginsberg.
  4. Montes, Noelle. “Is Ben Ginsberg Related To Martin Ginsburg? Explore Family Tree And Background Of American Lawyer.” Zen Sync. May 7, 2024. Accessed May 13, 2024. https://kopar.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/is-ben-ginsberg-related-to-martin-ginsburg-explore-family-tree-and-background-of-american-lawyer-31817.html.
  5. “Benjamin Ginsberg.” Hoover Institution. Accessed May 13, 2024. https://www.hoover.org/profiles/benjamin-ginsberg.
  6. Montes, Noelle. “Is Ben Ginsberg Related To Martin Ginsburg? Explore Family Tree And Background Of American Lawyer.” Zen Sync. May 7, 2024. Accessed May 13, 2024. https://kopar.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/is-ben-ginsberg-related-to-martin-ginsburg-explore-family-tree-and-background-of-american-lawyer-31817.html.
  7. Pierce, Charles P. “How Did the Florida 2000 Ratf*ck Not Come Up While This Guy Was Testifying?” Esquire. June 13, 2022. Accessed May 13, 2024. https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a40278024/january-6-committee-benjamin-ginsberg-florida-recount-2000/.
  8. “Benjamin Ginsberg.” Hoover Institution. Accessed May 13, 2024. https://www.hoover.org/profiles/benjamin-ginsberg.
  9. Montes, Noelle. “Is Ben Ginsberg Related To Martin Ginsburg? Explore Family Tree And Background Of American Lawyer.” Zen Sync. May 7, 2024. Accessed May 13, 2024. https://kopar.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/is-ben-ginsberg-related-to-martin-ginsburg-explore-family-tree-and-background-of-american-lawyer-31817.html.
  10. Ginsberg, Benjamin. “Bush Lawyer Ginsberg on HBO’s Recount: GOP Won Reality, Dems Win Movie.” May 21, 2008. Accessed May 13, 2024. https://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2008/05/21/bush-lawyer-ginsberg-on-hbos-recount-gop-won-reality-dems-win-movie.
  11. Hounshell, Blake; Enrich, David. “Inside a Republican Superlawyer’s Break With Donald Trump’s G.O.P.” New York Times. September 12, 2022. Accessed May 13, 2024. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/12/us/politics/david-enrich-trump-gop.html.
  12. “Benjamin Ginsberg.” Hoover Institution. Accessed May 13, 2024. https://www.hoover.org/profiles/benjamin-ginsberg.
  13. Montes, Noelle. “Is Ben Ginsberg Related To Martin Ginsburg? Explore Family Tree And Background Of American Lawyer.” Zen Sync. May 7, 2024. Accessed May 13, 2024. https://kopar.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/is-ben-ginsberg-related-to-martin-ginsburg-explore-family-tree-and-background-of-american-lawyer-31817.html.
  14. “Benjamin Ginsberg.” Hoover Institution. Accessed May 13, 2024. https://www.hoover.org/profiles/benjamin-ginsberg.
  15. “The History of the U.S. Presidential Election Process: Lessons Moving Forward.” Council on Foreign Relations. September 13, 2016. Accessed May 13, 2024. https://www.cfr.org/event/history-us-presidential-election-process-lessons-moving-forward.
  16. “Benjamin L. Ginsberg.” Karsh Institute of Democracy. Accessed May 13, 2024. https://karshinstitute.virginia.edu/person/benjamin-l-ginsberg.
  17. “Benjamin Ginsberg.” Hoover Institution. Accessed May 13, 2024. https://www.hoover.org/profiles/benjamin-ginsberg.
  18. “Benjamin L. Ginsberg.” Karsh Institute of Democracy. Accessed May 13, 2024. https://karshinstitute.virginia.edu/person/benjamin-l-ginsberg.
  19. “Presidential Commission on Election Administration: One Year Retrospective.” Bipartisan Policy Center. Accessed May 13, 2024. https://bipartisanpolicy.org/event/presidential-commission-on-election-administration-one-year-retrospective/.
  20. Pierce, Charles P. “How Did the Florida 2000 Ratf*ck Not Come Up While This Guy Was Testifying?” Esquire. June 13, 2022. Accessed May 13, 2024. https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a40278024/january-6-committee-benjamin-ginsberg-florida-recount-2000/
  21. Epstein, Reid J. “Benjamin Ginsberg, an election lawyer, has been one of Trump’s foremost Republican critics.” New York Times. June 13, 2022. Accessed May 13, 2024. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/13/us/benjamin-ginsberg-trump-election-lawyer.html.
  22. Epstein, Reid J. “Benjamin Ginsberg, an election lawyer, has been one of Trump’s foremost Republican critics.” New York Times. June 13, 2022. Accessed May 13, 2024. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/13/us/benjamin-ginsberg-trump-election-lawyer.html.
  23. Hounshell, Blake; Enrich, David. “Inside a Republican Superlawyer’s Break With Donald Trump’s G.O.P.” New York Times. September 12, 2022. Accessed May 13, 2024. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/12/us/politics/david-enrich-trump-gop.html.
  24. Epstein, Reid J.; Corasaniti, Nick. “Republicans Push Crackdown on Crime Wave That Doesn’t Exist: Voter Fraud.” New York Times. March 17, 2022. Accessed May 13, 2024. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/17/us/politics/republican-voter-fraud.html.
  25. Bauer, Bob; Ginsberg, Benjamin. “State Election Officials Are Under Attack. We Will Defend Them.” New York Times. June 4, 2021. Accessed May 13, 2024. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/04/opinion/republican-state-laws-election-officials.html.
  26. Shuham, Matt. “Ben Ginsberg Issues Warning To Fellow Republicans About Law Governing Electoral Count.” Talking Points Memo. December 6, 2021. Accessed May 13, 2024. https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/ben-ginsberg-issues-warning-to-fellow-republicans-about-law-governing-electoral-count.
  27. Grabenstein, Hannah. “Who is Ben Ginsberg and why is he testifying in the Jan. 6 hearings?” June 13, 2022. Accessed May 13, 2024. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/who-is-ben-ginsberg-and-why-is-he-testifying-in-the-jan-6-hearings.
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