Michael Luttig
Not since the bombardment of Fort Sumter in 1861 had the Union come as close to dissolution as it did on January 6, 2021. Retired federal appellate Judge Michael Luttig played a decisive role in helping avert a constitutional crisis that day. His clear legal reasoning guided Vice President Mike Pence as he resisted intense pressure from President Donald Trump to reject the certified results of the Electoral College. Luttig’s analysis made clear that the claims advanced by Trump and his cronies had no basis in the Constitution. His counsel to Pence did more than resolve a legal dispute - by quashing a coup, he continued a sacred American tradition - that of a peaceful transfer of power.
Luttig built his reputation while serving on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, one of the nation’s most influential courts. That court was respected for its disciplined legal reasoning and a restrained approach to interpreting the law. Appointed in 1991, he quickly emerged as one of its intellectual bulwarks. Earlier, he had clerked for Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia and Warren Burger. He considers himself fortunate to have had Burger as both a friend and a mentor.
In 2005, after the death of Chief Justice William Rehnquist, George W. Bush considered both John Roberts and Michael Luttig to replace him. Bush’s choice of Roberts was unfortunate for several reasons. Among them: Trump would not have been enjoying near total immunity for his crimes in office, as decreed by a 2024 Supreme Court ruling written by Roberts. Luttig decries that opinion.
After leaving the bench in 2006, Luttig entered private practice and corporate leadership, including serving as general counsel for Boeing. For years, he remained largely outside public view. That changed after January 2021. Since then, he has stepped forward as a non-partisan constitutional watchdog, warning of threats to the rule of law and arguing that the Fourteenth Amendment’s insurrection clause should have disqualified Trump from future office.
Ernest Hemingway defined courage as “grace under pressure.” Luttig has faced threats and lives under heightened security, yet he has continued to speak plainly. In an era marked by “alternate facts” and outright lies, his insistence on truth stands as a form of quiet, enduring courage.
“A stake was driven through the heart of American democracy on January 6, 2021, and our democracy today is on a knife's edge. America was at war on that fateful day, but not against foreign power. She was at war against herself.”
PALM BEACH FLORIDA – APRIL 24, 2026