The morning after his decisive victory, President-elect Donald Trump enjoyed a quiet day at Mar-a-Lago, occasionally talking with world leaders and “thinking about the future,” NBC News reported, citing a senior campaign official.
That official also told NBC that, in the wake of his win, Trump’s “bitterness” was gone, stating there’s been “no talk of” special counsel Jack Smith or New York Attorney General Letitia James, two of the prosecutors who have vexed Trump the most through their respective criminal and civil cases against him.
Given Trump’s history of deriding — and threatening — his perceived enemies, the official’s assessment warrants a healthy amount of skepticism. But even if Trump’s allegedly lighter mood lasts, it’s not entirely mirrored by his key allies, including those who frequently come up as potential contenders for leadership roles in the next Trump White House or the Justice Department. Indeed, among that group is Mike Davis, a prominent conservative lawyer whose qualifications for leading the DOJ or serving as White House counsel are matched only by his public thirst for revenge.
‘We want him in a very high capacity’
There is no question that Davis has the resume to compete for those jobs, with experience that includes serving as the lead nominations staffer for then-Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, during which he helped shepherd Supreme Court Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh through their confirmations. He has also clerked for Gorsuch, worked in George W. Bush’s DOJ, and served as an aide to then-House Speaker (and current Trump ally) Newt Gingrich.
But today, he is better known as the founder and president of the Article III Project, an organization that bills itself as bringing “brass knuckles to fight leftist lawfare,” and he commands serious attention and respect in the Trump world.
At an October campaign event in Colorado, where Davis primarily resides and practices law, Trump called him out by name, exclaiming, “This guy is tough as hell. … We want him in a very high capacity.” It’s moments like that that have prompted other outlets, like The Washington Post, to note Davis has “positioned himself to be a key adviser on legal issues and judicial selection.” And perhaps unsurprisingly, the Post also reported Davis had been “privately floated” by Trump as a potential attorney general.
Davis, for his part, has stated publicly he prefers Mark Paoletta, former general counsel for the Office of Management and Budget, for attorney general. Davis also said he would rather serve as Trump’s “viceroy” than as White House counsel, telling Trump adviser Steve Bannon in March that he would prefer to be a viceroy of Washington, D.C., “because I don’t like democracy.”
But here’s where things get scary. For a guy who disclaims any desire to fill an official role, he has been remarkably specific about what he thinks should happen next — and confident that it will.
For example, on Wednesday morning, when Trump was allegedly ebullient, Davis tweeted a very different “current mood”: “I want to drag their dead political bodies,” presumably referring to Democrats or some subgroup thereof, “through the streets, burn them, and throw them off the wall. (Legally, politically, and financially, of course.)”
And if that were not concerning enough, consider that on Wednesday and Thursday on X, Davis:
- Instructed former Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., to “lawyer up” because “[t]he evidence suggests you colluded with a key January 6th witness” — referring to Cassidy Hutchinson — “to commit perjury and obstruct a congressional investigation.” (There’s no evidence to suggest Cheney and Hutchinson did so.)
- Dared New York Attorney General Letitia James to “continue [her] lawfare” because “we’re not messing around this time and we will put your fat ass in prison for conspiracy against rights.”
- Suggested other state and federal prosecutors who have brought cases against Trump and his allies should be prosecuted “[o]nly for their real crimes. Like conspiracy against rights.”
- Responded to NBC News’ report, based on one of his earlier posts, that Jack Smith could face “legal consequences,” with one sentence: “Fact check: True.”
Trump whisperer or just trolling the libs?
Is Davis, whom Donald Trump Jr. once called “the tip of the spear defending my father from these corrupt prosecutors,” a human crystal ball? Or is he just trolling the libs, a role he relishes? It’s purposefully messy. As Politico observed in a profile of Davis earlier this year, he “encapsulates a defining feature of conservatives in the Trump era: the dissolving barrier between reality and trolling, between serious political ideas and winking provocation.”
Of course, even if Davis were completely serious, he has no authority to put anyone in prison, much less indict them. And no court has found any merit to his accusation that prosecutors like James and Smith have maliciously prosecuted Trump, much less violated any criminal law. Asked whether Davis is under consideration for any political appointments in the next Trump White House and whether the Trump transition team and/or the president-elect support Davis’ posts, Karoline Leavitt, the spokeswoman for the transition, offered only this statement on Thursday, “President-Elect Trump will begin making decisions on who will serve in his second Administration soon. Those decisions will be announced when they are made.” MSNBC also sought comment from Davis, asking whether he genuinely believes Smith, James and Cheney should be prosecuted and whether he was speaking for himself and A3P, or whether his views are reflective of Trump and his transition team. A3P responded with a five-word statement on behalf of Davis on Thursday: “Nobody is above the law.” Davis himself took to X on Friday to reiterate his support for Trump, but announce, “I am not going into his administration and am not under consideration for Attorney General.” He continued, “As I have made crystal clear, I do not speak for President Trump or anyone else.” Still, NBC News reported Friday that while he is not leading Trump’s DOJ transition efforts, Davis is indeed among those involved, citing sources familiar with the matter. So for my part, I intend to take Davis at his word as I watch for Trump’s transition announcements to begin in the coming days. But whether or not Davis takes a job in Washington, don’t count on his influence diminishing. And don’t expect him to forgive or forget.
Lisa Rubin is an MS NOW legal correspondent and a former litigator. Previously, she was the off-air legal analyst for “The Rachel Maddow Show” and “Alex Wagner Tonight.”
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