Cleta Mitchell

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Mitchell is chair of the conservative activist group Public Interest Legal Foundation, which is known for making claims of voter fraud. [22] She has claimed that Democrats engage in a "very well-planned-out assault" on election systems. [22] Prior to the 2020 election, she organized legal efforts to challenge mail-in ballots cast in the election. [23] Mitchell has worked closely with Ginni Thomas, wife of Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas, in the Council for National Policy to organize efforts to keep Trump in power, [24] and The New York Times reported that it was Mitchell who "enlisted John Eastman, the lawyer who crafted specious legal theories claiming Vice President Mike Pence could keep Mr. Trump in power." [25]

After Joe Biden won the 2020 election and President Donald Trump refused to concede, Mitchell claimed that dead people voted in the election. [26]

On January 2, 2021, she participated in the hour-long telephone conversation between Trump and Georgia's Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, during which Trump pressured Raffensperger to investigate unsupported claims disputing the results of the 2020 presidential election based on doctored videos and unsubstantiated rumors from right-wing media. Following that telephone call, Mitchell accused Raffensperger of saying things "that are simply not correct" about the presidential results in Georgia. [27] [28] Two days later, after Mitchell's participation in the call was reported, the law firm of Foley & Lardner (where Mitchell was a partner) released a statement saying that the law firm's policy was not to represent parties seeking to contest the results of the 2020 election; that the firm was "aware of, and concerned by" Mitchell's participation in the telephone call; and that the firm was "working to understand her involvement more thoroughly". [29] Mitchell resigned from Foley & Lardner the next day. The firm said that Mitchell "concluded that her departure was in the firm's best interests, as well as in her own personal best interests". [19] Mitchell blamed her resignation on a purported "massive pressure campaign" allegedly launched by leftist groups on social media. [30]

Voting restrictions campaign

In 2021, Michell took a central role in coordinating Republican efforts to tighten voting laws. FreedomWorks put her in charge of a $10 million initiative to push for voting restriction and train conservatives in local elections. [31] [32]

Mitchell also set up an escrow fund to funnel money to companies conducting a pro-Trump "audit" into the 2020 presidential election in Maricopa County, Arizona. [33]

Election Assistance Commission

From November 2021 until November 2023, Mitchell served on the Board of Advisors of the federal Election Assistance Commission. The Board meets biannually and has no rule-making authority but can make recommendations to the Commission. She was nominated by Republican-appointed members of the Commission and approved by a majority vote. The EAC certifies voting machines and advises local election officials on compliance with federal regulations. [34]

Election Integrity Network

The Conservative Partnership Institute, a right-wing think tank formed by Jim DeMint, [35] [36] helped to create the Election Integrity Network project, an effort spearheaded by Cleta Mitchell beginning in 2021. [37] Both Mitchell and former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows are senior members of the Conservative Partnership Institute, which received funding from Trump's Save America PAC. [25] [38]

According to The New York Times, Mitchell is preparing for future elections, and has support from other well-funded right-wing organizations as well, including the Republican National Committee. The Election Integrity Network has held seminars and trainings throughout the country, [39] and is "recruiting election conspiracists into an organized cavalry of activists [who will be] monitoring elections ... She has tapped into a network of grass-root groups" that promote the "big lie" and believe Trump won the 2020 election. [25] Speaking about these organizing efforts, during a June 2022 episode of Stephen Bannon's War Room podcast, Mitchell stated: "2020 — never again. That’s our goal." [40]

Some of the ambitions of this newly formed Election Integrity Network may be achieved based on tactics such as poll-monitoring, and filing public records requests, but there are concerns that the group will also focus on researching "local and state officials to determine whether each is a 'friend or foe' of the movement." Mitchell's Election Integrity Network trainings have included "aggressive methods" such as surveillance, and encouraging participants to verify voter rolls themselves. This may put extra pressure on local officials and be disruptive to the voting process, especially "when conducted by people convinced of falsehoods about fraud." [25] [40] [41]

Podcast and ERIC

Mitchell hosts a podcast called "Who's Counting", and is a major lobbyist against state participation in Electronic Registration Information Center, which allows states to compare voter rolls to prevent double-voting. [42]

Published works

Personal life

She married Duane Draper, a fellow Oklahoman from Norman, in 1973. In 1980 he took a teaching fellowship at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, moving to Massachusetts. The couple divorced two years later in July 1982 on grounds of "incompatibility". [10] Draper later came out as a gay man, becoming the director of AIDS programming at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health in 1988. He died of AIDS in 1991. [10]

In 1984, Cleta Deatherage married Dale Mitchell, who was the son of 1940s and 1950s All-Star Cleveland Indians and Brooklyn Dodgers left-fielder (Loren) Dale Mitchell. [10] They have a daughter. [5] In 1986, the FBI began investigating Dale Mitchell for banking malpractice, and in 1992 he was convicted of five felony counts of conspiracy to defraud, misapplying bank funds and making false statements to banks. [10] He was ordered to pay $3 million in restitution, given a suspended sentence of five years, and ordered to perform community service. [43] [44] Her husband's conviction on one count was reversed on appeal and the amount of restitution was reduced. [45] As a consequence of findings of the prosecutors' investigation, he had agreed in 1988 to a lifetime ban by Federal Regulators from banking. [44] According to Cleta Mitchell, his conviction convinced her that "overreaching government regulation is one of the great scandals of our times". [46]

Selected publications

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Williamson, Elizabeth (October 30, 2010). "Political Insider Is Tea Party Candidates' Lawyer of Choice". WSJ.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Schmidt, Michael S.; Vogel, Kenneth P. (January 5, 2021). "Trump Lawyer on Call Is a Conservative Firebrand Aiding His Push to Overturn Election". The New York Times.
  3. ↑ Kranish, Michael (January 5, 2021). "Cleta Mitchell, who advised Trump on Saturday phone call, resigns from law firm". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  4. ↑ Polants, Katelyn (January 5, 2021). "Attorney who assisted Trump on call with Georgia officials resigns from law firm". CNN. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Pappas, Christine. "Mitchell, Cleta Deatherage (1950– )". Oklahoma Historical Society . Archived from the original on December 28, 2017.
  6. 1 2 Mitchell, Cleta Deatherage (June 21, 2007). "Oral history interview with Cleta Deatherage Mitchell". Women of the Oklahoma Legislature (Interview). Interviewed by Tanya Finchum. Retrieved April 23, 2015.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Cleta Mitchell". Foley & Lardner LLP. Archived from the original on January 3, 2021. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Cleta Mitchell". American Conservative Union. Archived from the original on March 21, 2013.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Ms. Cleta Mitchell". Republican National Lawyers Association. Archived from the original on March 6, 2017.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Krohn, Jonathan. "Meet Cleta Mitchell, the Conservative Movement's Anti-Gay Eminence Grise". The Atlantic. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
  11. ↑ Pappas, Christine. "Mitchell, Cleta Deatherage". Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture. Oklahoma Historical Society. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  12. ↑ Beer, Tommy (January 5, 2021). "Who's Cleta Mitchell, Trump's Lawyer On Georgia Call?". Forbes.
  13. ↑ U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton , 514 U.S. 779 (1995).
  14. ↑ "The Bradley Foundation Board of Directors". The Lynda and Harry Bradley Foundation. Archived from the original on February 16, 2014. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
  15. ↑ "National Rifle Association Board of Directors". Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence. Archived from the original on January 9, 2013. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
  16. 1 2 Stone, Peter; Gordon, Greg (March 15, 2018). "NRA lawyer said to have had concerns about group's ties to Russia". mcclatchydc. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  17. 1 2 3 O'Harrow Jr., Robert (December 17, 2017). "Fallout from allegations of tea party targeting hamper IRS oversight of nonprofits". The Washington Post.
  18. 1 2 3 Schwartz, Brian (June 25, 2019). "Steve Bannon hires D.C. super lawyer and Mueller skeptic to represent his nonprofit". CNBC. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
  19. 1 2 "Trump Lawyer Cleta Mitchell Leaves Firm After Georgia Call". Bloomberg Law. January 5, 2020.
  20. ↑ Bogardus, Kevin (April 24, 2019). "EPA: Pruitt's lawyer sought billionaire's help for fund". E&E News . Retrieved January 3, 2021.
  21. ↑ Papenfuss, Mary (October 6, 2020). "Lawyer At White House COVID-Cluster Event Spoke Later To Group Fighting Mail-In Votes". HuffPost. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
  22. 1 2 Tanfani, Simon Lewis, Joseph (September 9, 2020). "Special Report: How a small group of U.S. lawyers pushed voter fraud fears into the mainstream". Reuters. Retrieved January 4, 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  23. ↑ Papenfuss, Mary (November 10, 2020). "Watch Fox News Host's Look Of Utter Disdain Over Voter Fraud Claim On Hot Mic". Huffington Post. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
  24. ↑ Nelson, Anne (February 22, 2021). "How the CNP, a Republican Powerhouse, Helped Spawn Trumpism, Disrupted the Transfer of Power, and Stoked the Assault on the Capitol". The Washington Spectator. Archived from the original on June 10, 2022. Retrieved July 30, 2022.
  25. 1 2 3 4 Berzon, Alexandra (May 30, 2022). "Lawyer Who Plotted to Overturn Trump Loss Recruits Election Deniers to Watch Over the Vote". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 24, 2022. Retrieved July 30, 2022.
  26. ↑ Joseph, Samantha (November 7, 2020). "'Dead People Having Voted': Foley Lardner Partner Says Trump Has Proof of Illegal Ballots". Law.com. Archived from the original on November 13, 2020. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
  27. ↑ Gardner, Amy (January 3, 2021). "'I just want to find 11,780 votes': In extraordinary hour-long call, Trump pressures Georgia secretary of state to recalculate the vote in his favor". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  28. ↑ Gardner, Amy; Firozi, Paulina (January 3, 2021). "Here's the full transcript and audio of the call between Trump and Raffensperger". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
  29. ↑ Czachor, Emily (January 4, 2021). "Law firm "concerned" about partner being part of Trump's "find 11,780 votes" call". Newsweek. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  30. ↑ "Trump lawyer Cleta Mitchell quit her law firm after being part of the president's controversial Georgia phone call". Business Insider. January 5, 2021. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  31. ↑ Riccardi, Nicholas (March 28, 2021). "Former Trump adviser takes prominent role in voting battle". AP News. Associated Press . Retrieved April 26, 2021.
  32. ↑ "Republican lawyer is key player in voter suppression drive across US". The Guardian . April 25, 2021. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
  33. ↑ Fifield, Jen; Barchenger, Stacet. "Trump adviser funnels outside money through escrow account into the Arizona election audit". The Arizona Republic . Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  34. ↑ Riccardi, Nicholas (November 16, 2021). "Trump adviser appointed to panel on US elections". AP News. Associated Press.
  35. ↑ Isenstadt, Alex (March 24, 2021). "Trumpworld's next target: Building a dark-money machine". Politico. Archived from the original on June 3, 2022. Retrieved July 30, 2022.
  36. ↑ Gross, Terry (July 21, 2022). "How the CPI became the most powerful messaging force in the MAGA universe". Fresh Air. NPR. Archived from the original on July 29, 2022. Retrieved July 31, 2022. So running out of one townhouse on Capitol Hill just a few blocks from the Capitol – like I said, you have nearly a dozen different groups, and they include things like the Election Integrity Network, which is an organization run by Cleta Mitchell that is really aimed at training poll watchers and observers and people to file public records requests to really kind of watchdog the upcoming midterm elections. You also have the American Accountability Foundation, which is very different. It's focused on nominees ... there are several PACs, for example, that run out of CPI, including the Freedom Caucus' PAC. There is a PR firm that runs out of CPI. There are podcast and recording studios in the building.
  37. ↑ Bedard, Paul (March 16, 2021). "Conservative team targets HR 1, ballot fraud in Georgia and elsewhere". Washington Examiner. Archived from the original on April 13, 2022. Retrieved July 30, 2022.
  38. ↑ Severns, Maggie; Paladino, Jason; Reilly, Steve; van Wagtendonk, Anya (July 5, 2022). "The insurrectionists' clubhouse: Former Trump aides find a home at a little-known MAGA hub". Grid. Archived from the original on July 28, 2022. Retrieved July 31, 2022.
  39. ↑ Stone, Peter (April 18, 2022). "'Election integrity summits' aim to fire up Trump activists over big lie". The Guardian. Archived from the original on July 29, 2022. Retrieved July 31, 2022. Mitchell, CPI's senior legal fellow, has hosted multi-day summits, seeking to mobilize hundreds of conservative activists for elections this year in Georgia, Arizona and Pennsylvania, all states that Trump lost to Joe Biden, and Florida, which he won. CPI is slated to hold summits this spring in Virginia, Michigan and Wisconsin, as it seeks to build 'election integrity' infrastructure in swing states.
  40. 1 2 Homans, Charles (July 19, 2022). "How 'Stop the Steal' Captured the American Right". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 29, 2022. Retrieved July 30, 2022.
  41. ↑ Levine, Sam (June 30, 2022). "Republican push to recruit election deniers as poll workers causes alarm". The Guardian. Archived from the original on July 29, 2022. Retrieved July 31, 2022. The effort, called the Election Integrity Network, underscores how Trump and allies are capitalizing on now deeply seeded Republican doubt about Joe Biden's victory and are targeting key election offices and jobs that play a considerable role in determining how ballots are cast and counted.
  42. ↑ Parks, Miles (June 7, 2023). "The far right's growing influence and 4 other takeaways from NPR's ERIC investigation". NPR.
  43. ↑ Godfrey, Ed (December 15, 1992). "Jury Finds Ex-Banker Guilty on 5 Counts". The Oklahoman.
  44. 1 2 Godfrey, Ed (April 15, 1993). "Ex-Banker Gets Parole For Fraud Restitution Payment Ordered". The Oklahoman. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  45. ↑ "United States of America, Plaintiff-appellee, v. Dale E. Mitchell, Defendant-appellant, 15 F.3d 953 (10th Cir. 1994)". Justia. January 28, 1993. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  46. ↑ Mayer, Jane (October 14, 1996). "The Outsider". The New Yorker. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
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Cleta Mitchell
Cleta Mitchell by Gage Skidmore.jpg
Member of the OklahomaHouseofRepresentatives
from the 44th district
In office
1976–1984