Capitol Retort: Matter of ethics, Trump’s coming; kissing Cousins

Editor’s note: Welcome to Capitol Retort, our weekly review of issues in state and national news, with a rotating cast of legal and political people in the know. Answers are edited for length and clarity. Any instances of agreement are accidental.

Question 1: Minnesota lawyer Nicholas Rikieta has created a $250,000 legal defense fund for an anime voice actor accused of sexually harassing women; that actor has sued several accusers. Meanwhile Rikieta (who isn’t on the actor’s legal team) has used his popular YouTube channel to stir up a social media flame war over the case. As a lawyer, legal experts say, Rikieta has not acted unethically. Do you agree?

Erick Kaardal, populist government watchdog attorney: I think there is a gap in the ethics rules that needs to be closed, regarding attorneys fundraising off of lawsuits. When nonprofits or GoFundMe accounts raise money off of lawsuits that don’t involve direct representation, there needs to be some regulation—there are ethical considerations there that haven’t been incorporated into the rules yet. I don’t mind raising money to represent a client that couldn’t otherwise afford it. But for an attorney to raise money to affect the public relations or public opinion of a case, I mean, come on! That’s using the system to benefit him or herself, rather than aiding the system and finding justice.

Abou Amara, progressive activist, attorney: My takeaway is that the attorneys involved here are not acting in a way that you would want attorneys to act. Whether it’s the one who is representing this actor guy [Texas lawyer Ty Beard], or his friend [Rikieta], it just seems that they are acting in bombastic and extreme ways, when that doesn’t seem necessary. [The ethics experts] may be right, but to me that is actually kind of secondary. These attorneys seem to be acting in their own self-interests and not in the interests of the client or the case. [Editor’s note: Respondents’ attorneys say that Beard got recruited by Rikieta to represent actor Vic Mignogna at trial in the defamation suit. Beard and Rikieta have longstanding ties, according to respondents’ lawyers; Beard was executor over the estate of Rikieta’s wealthy late grandfather.]

John Lesch, DFL House Civil Law committee chair, attorney: I would say this. It’s pretty unseemly—especially as a person who holds himself out as an officer of the court—to inflame passions over what is supposed to be a dispassionate judicial process. But yeah, I would say, that as a technical matter, it is not a breach of attorney ethics.

Jennifer DeJournett, chair, Women’s Conservative Caucus: No. It sounds like he needs another hobby. Or, we should all just root for a big asteroid to hit us all.

Question 2: President Trump will appear in Minneapolis, home district of his congressional foil Rep. Ilhan Omar, on Oct. 10. There he reportedly will scorn the city as a zone of urban blight and mayhem the way he recently portrayed Baltimore. If you had the president’s ear, what would you say to persuade him to feel as you do about Minneapolis?

Kaardal: Well, Minneapolis is a great place to work. But I think taxes are too high—and I’d agree with President Trump on that. I do plan to attend. And I’ll be cheering.

Amara: If he is going to come here and call our city an economic dumpster fire, or any of the other bombastic terms he uses, I would remind him that Minneapolis is driving the economic growth of this state. The vast majority of dollars and jobs created are all in the city of Minneapolis and the Twin Cities region. And all the while, the region is becoming more diverse—so our diversity has actually come at a time when we have grown economically. I would remind him that immigrants and diversity have been a part of our growth. It has not stopped our growth.

Lesch: To persuade him? I don’t know if I could persuade him. But I’d tell him that people who live in glass White Houses shouldn’t throw stones. He has got too many problems of his own creation for him to point out what he perceives as other people’s problems.

DeJournett: Well, I live in the suburbs because there is proper parking and there are mayors that will defend their cities. So I would say that I hope the next [Trump] rally would be in the suburbs, where we would all be able to park without worries about being towed or of being attacked for our cellphones.

Question 3: After a week of internal dissension in which two receivers publicly complained that they weren’t getting enough attention from the Vikings’ run-and-short-pass-loving quarterback Kirk Cousins, the team manhandled the New York Giants Sunday, 28-10. In that game, Cousins completed 22 of 27 passes for a tidy 307 yards. So is all well now in the Land of the Purple?

Kaardal: I’m very optimistic. I think the Vikings are going to win the division and go on to do well in the playoffs.

Amara: All is not well. I’m glad to see him bounce back after a tough week. But the reality is we weren’t playing a very tough team. So we shouldn’t be happy that our $84 million quarterback is playing OK against bad teams. We need our all-star quarterback to play well against great teams. That’s what’s going to make the Minnesota Vikings great.

Lesch: Yes. It’s well until we start losing again. [Chuckles.] You know, sports politics might be the only thing that changes faster than real-world politics. Everyone is happy when they’re winning. But when the next loss comes down, you’re going to see this bubble back up.

DeJournett: Yes. I like it when my teams win. And I don’t like it when they lose. So everything that can go for the win is good for me.