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50 Creighton L. Rev. 781 (2016-2017)
Trumpian Ethics and the Rule of Law

handle is hein.journals/creigh50 and id is 817 raw text is: 781 TRUMPIAN ETHICS AND THE RULE OF LAW JoHN McKA Y' I. INTRODUCTION This essay accompanies the 2017 Creighton Law Review Sympo- sium and TePoel Lecture delivered by the author as a part of the sym- posium's topic, The Lawyer's Leadership Role: A Tour of Legal Ethics. A focus on the leadership role of lawyers could not be more timely as our country faces ethical leadership challenges emanating from the executive branch and playing out in courts, the media, and the daily lives of Americans. With a newly elected President issuing controversial executive orders, some with constitutional ramifications, government leaders and especially government lawyers may be called upon to sacrifice the security of their jobs in the defense of ideals and the rule of law. In the first part, this Article examines the author's controversial firing as United States Attorney in 2007, along with several others in a scandal that shook the United States Department of Justice, which resulted in the resignation of the Attorney General and many top offi- cials of the Department.' In the second part, the author analyzes an ethical conundrum brought about by failed United States policies in Israel and Palestine during his service in the West Bank from 2013- 15.2 The third part establishes a construct for ethical leadership in which ethics and integrity trumps self-interest and examines today's controversial firing of Justice Department officials who have taken stands against unfettered executive authority.3 The Article concludes by considering the ethical leadership required of government law- yers-indeed all who care about justice-the face of unlawful and un- ethical demands by elected officials and their subordinates.4 t John McKay is Professor from Practice at Seattle University School of Law and Chair of Government Investigations & Crisis Management for Davis Wright Tremaine LLP. He served as the United States Attorney for the Western District of Washington (2001-2007), President of the Legal Services Corporation (1997-2001) and Chief of Team for a United States rule of law project in the West Bank of Palestine (2013-2015). He writes and speaks frequently about national security, leadership, and ethics in government 1. See infra notes 5-26 and accompanying text. 2. See infra notes 27-42 and accompanying text. 3. See infra notes 43-45 and accompanying text. 4. See infra notes 46-52 and accompanying text.

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