For $520 an hour, we’d do pretty much anything. (Anything.) But apparently the law firm King & Spalding has some standards. Speaker of the House John Boehner had hired King & Spalding partner Paul Clement, a former solicitor general under George W. Bush, to defend the Defense of Marriage Act in court on behalf of Congress after the Justice Department decided that the law was probably unconstitutional and they didn’t want any part in upholding it. But now the firm has bowed out as well, according to a statement:
“Today the firm filed a motion to withdraw from its engagement to represent the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group of the House of Representatives on the constitutional issues regarding Section III of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act,” firm chairman Robert D. Hays, Jr. said in a statement. “Last week we worked diligently through the process required for withdrawal.”
What, exactly, did this inadequate vetting process overlook? That the gays, and friends of the gays, would be kind of pissed about this? That’s what Clement implied when he resigned this morning over the firm’s decision to drop the case.
Wow. The guys who want to preserve marriage as a solely heterosexual institution are now the “unpopular clients.” That’s something new.
Law Firm Backs Out Of Agreement To Defend DOMA: Vetting Process Was ‘Inadequate’ [UPDATE] [HuffPo]
Clement firm drops DOMA case [Politico]
