Journalist Yashar Ali, who has been doing great work reporting on sexual harassment and assault allegations in Hollywood, received the letter below from the lawyer of a target of his next piece threatening to sue him if he published the story.
“Should you choose to publish a story about our client which contains such false and defamatory statements alleged in your email [REDACTED] our client will pursue any and all legal and/or equitable remedies that may be available to him including against any of the publications that publish it,” writes the lawyer whom Ali didn’t identify:
The kind of legal threats you get when you're investigating sexual misconduct. Please, sue me….good luck. pic.twitter.com/vuycXEsCuM
— Yashar Ali ? (@yashar) October 31, 2017
But even better, this lawyer seems to have accidentally admitted his client was guilty:
If you're going to send me a letter saying something didn't occur, don't use this phrase: "jurisdiction where the assault occurred." https://t.co/VwUeCRxEqx
— Yashar Ali ? (@yashar) October 31, 2017
Whoops!
When your lawyer's help frame you: https://t.co/szHkyVhjhM
— Fred Crowson (@fcbsd) October 31, 2017
I’ve seen some badly written legal threats, but it'll be very difficult for anyone to top this one.
(Unless Charles Harder is who wrote it) https://t.co/uDUrKg6blR
— David Bixenspan (@davidbix) October 31, 2017
Recommended
Not only that, but this lawyer ended his letter by saying it’s been copyrighted and that it’s a violation if Ali published it:
I need to make a "reliable tells this lawyer is a buffoonish thug" list, with "this letter is copyrighted" high on the list.
— IWantNothingHat (@Popehat) October 31, 2017
Yeah, that didn’t work:
Oh, darn. I accidentally RTed this copyrighted letter. https://t.co/hiXfSBarAb
— Gabriel Malor (@gabrielmalor) October 31, 2017
"Asserting copyright over this letter"
Lol, good luck with that. https://t.co/LeLhNj5s3d— Byron Tau (@ByronTau) October 31, 2017
I am asserting copyright ownership to this tweet. It may not be retweeted or quote tweeted without prior written consent. https://t.co/6bkO2sGhtf
— kilgore trout was in the loop (@KT_So_It_Goes) October 31, 2017
But, wait — there’s more! This lawyer also may have accidentally waived attorney-client privilege:
A good lawyer writes a threat letter. A GREAT lawyer manages to waive attorney-client privilege in the letter. https://t.co/ZqDtKsAYOK
— IWantNothingHat (@Popehat) October 31, 2017
@Popehat explains:
Normally, an attorney can't be compelled to disclose what a client told him or her. But disclosures can waive (give up) that privilege….
— IWantNothingHat (@Popehat) October 31, 2017
A decent argument can be made that this attorney, by framing the letter as describing a conversation with the client, waived privilege.
— IWantNothingHat (@Popehat) October 31, 2017
***
Related:
YAAAAAS! Yashar Ali calls Michael Moore OUT for being a silent COWARD about Harvey Weinstein https://t.co/j60b74bllC
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) October 8, 2017
WOW: Yashar Ali explains why Elisabeth Moss winning an Emmy for Handmaid’s Tale is a TRAVESTY https://t.co/UJImeDcNLw
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) September 19, 2017
‘My mistake led her to getting threats’: Yashar Ali apologizes to Dana Loesch over fist-gate https://t.co/TEl5KivOYQ
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) August 12, 2017
Join the conversation as a VIP Member