Brady Issues Letter on Latest Republican Lawsuit Effort

House GOP Leadership retains 3rd Attorney in Failed Efforts to Sue Obama Administration

WASHINGTON: Committee on House Administration Ranking Democratic Member Robert A. Brady sent a letter today calling for clarification of key elements of a contract approved by Committee Republicans which retained Jonathan Turley, Esquire, as outside Counsel for their ongoing politically-motivated effort to sue the Obama Administration.  Turley is the third attorney to be retained by GOP Leadership and was selected after the two prior firms bowed out of the effort. The Turley contract was approved in the same manner as the previous contracts – without following regular order, which would have allowed Democratic committee Members to ask questions about the contract. In the absence of an open process, Brady’s letter poses a series of questions designed to clarify the provisions of the contract including its scope, intent and limits.

“We certainly believe that the committee should have considered this contract in open session, which would have allowed us to debate the proposal in regular order,” states Brady in the letter addressed to Committee Chairman Candice Miller. “Since we had no opportunity to be heard before the committee approved the contract, we are posing the following questions…”

The letter proceeds to ask for clarification on the expenses and hourly rates, ambiguous subcontracting provisions, the use of uncompensated George Washington University law students and the potential for expanding this contract to include threatened lawsuits targeting the Administration’s recent Executive Action on immigration.

Turley is a noted legal scholar who, in multiple media appearances, called for the criminal prosecution of Bush Administration officials for war crimes and also called for the impeachment of President George W. Bush, an effort that was rejected by then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi.  Prior to Turley, the firms of Baker Hostetler and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan were retained but later withdrew from the respective contracts.

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