2020 presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris ripped the law firm defending convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein the same day her husband headed up a fundraiser hosted by the same firm.
The Associated Press obtained documents Monday that showed Harris’ husband headed up a fundraiser for his wife’s 2020 presidential campaign in Chicago hosted by six partners from Kirkland & Ellis, the law firm that represents Epstein.
That same day, Harris sent a letter to Attorney General William Barr and Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen blasting the firm and asking Barr and Rosen to recuse themselves from the case because of their ties to the law firm.
“In our democracy, no one — no matter how powerful or well-connected — is above the law,” Harris wrote in the letter. “Yet Epstein’s [2008] deal, secured by his lawyers at Kirkland & Ellis, calls into question the integrity of our legal system and undermines the public’s confidence that justice will be served. Now that Epstein faces new charges, the Department must do everything in its power to ensure that his prosecution is fair, just, and insulated from external pressures.”
Paul S. Ryan, a lawyer with the watchdog group Common Cause, questioned whether Harris’ posture was hypocritical.
“If any connection with Kirkland & Ellis is a stain on [senior Justice Department officials], why isn’t a connection with the law firm for the receipt of campaign contributions a stain on her own campaign?” Ryan said.
Harris’ campaign spokesman countered by saying the partners at the event did not work with Epstein on the plea deal.
“The people involved in that case have not supported her campaign, and she wouldn’t want that support anyway,” he said. “It’s an international law firm with thousands of employees, many of whom probably support Kamala Harris because she’s a tough prosecutor who actually knows how to put away predators, unlike the Trump lackeys who protect them.”
