Jackassery Loves Company

So, I see that Jim Bopp (the nice man who gave us Citizens United and Bush v. Gore) has decided to put his cloven-hoof stamp on the Curtis Hill matter.

A few quotes, first from the Indiana Lawyer:

Supporters of embattled Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill have created a nonprofit to raise money for his legal defense amid allegations the Republican drunkenly groped a state lawmaker and three legislative staffers.

Indiana attorney James Bopp Jr. and former Indiana Court of Appeals Judge Linda Chezem said Monday that the nonprofit accepts tax-deductible donations for paying Hill’s legal bills. 

OK. That quote is more or less factual. Given my thoughts on Jackass Curtis Hill, I think the next quote is money:

Hill’s backers say he has been treated unfairly. 

I wonder how many of Hill's prosecutorial targets feel that his investigations into them were unfair.

By way of contrast or additional information (take your pick), here is how the Indianapolis Star covered the story:

 Jim Bopp, a high-powered Republican attorney, announced Monday the creation of Fairness for Curtis Hill, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization formed to collect tax deductible funds for Hill's defense.  

Some tax and campaign finance experts, however, questioned whether the new fund could even operate as a charitable nonprofit under the law. Lloyd Hitoshi Mayer, a law professor at Notre Dame, said a 501(c)(3) charity can't benefit one person. Usually defending public officials from allegations also isn't considered charitable, he said.

Get ready for the AM Radio/Conservative Victim Complex . . . THE IRS IS TARGETING US BECAUSE WE'RE breaking the law CONSERVATIVES!!

Bopp, who is best known for representing Citizens United in a U.S. Supreme Court case that overturned restrictions on political spending by corporations, nonprofits and labor unions, said contributions to the fund will be tax exempt and will come strictly from private individuals and entities, not taxpayers.

Well, I suppose that's good news -- I don't have to pay to defend Attorney General Hands McGee.

But the contributions will also be secret, he said. The source of donations to the defense fund do not have to be disclosed publicly, unlike contributions to political campaigns.

Well, I certainly can't see anything untoward about allowing wealthy people to make undisclosed donations to high-powered political figures!

So, in sum, we have two of the most repulsive figures in Indiana politics (and unfortunately in the Indiana legal community) teaming up to provide "process" for the powerful . . . how much of this "process" has Jim Bopp or Curtis Hill ever secured for the poor, downtrodden, among us? To ask the question is to answer it.