Watchdog Flags Ethics Landmine for Biden Admin in Landmark Affirmative Action Case
- January 5, 2022
Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar received a waiver to argue a case involving her former employer
Kevin Daley, Washington Free Beacon
A watchdog group is asking the Justice Department about its decision to waive ethics rules and let the administration’s top Supreme Court lawyer argue a landmark affirmative action case involving her former employer, the Washington Free Beacon has learned.
Protect the Public’s Trust filed a Freedom of Information Act request Wednesday for information about Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar’s involvement with a legal brief the administration filed urging the Court to reject a lawsuit accusing Harvard of bias against Asians. Prelogar, a former Harvard employee, is barred by the Biden administration’s ethics pledge from participating in the case without a waiver.
The request seeks all records relating to the decision to grant Prelogar a waiver, as well as communications involving Prelogar and the case, Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard.
“Considering that there is no shortage of legal talent in the solicitor general’s office, the American public has to wonder why Ms. Prelogar’s involvement was so irreplaceable,” said Michael Chamberlain, director of Protect the Public’s Trust. “At this point, the circumstances raise a number of questions of whether the proper procedures were followed and whether the waiver process was appropriately applied.”