Jay Sekulow

Jay Sekulow is chief counsel of the American Center for Law and Justice, a right-wing litigation operation and advocacy machine and Project 2025 Advisory Board member that works to overturn church-state separation, women’s rights, and LGBTQ+ rights across the U.S. and abroad. Sekulow, who self identifies as one of the foremost “religious liberties litigators” in the United States, has attacked federal LGBTQ hate crimes law as a “dangerous trend” that “chills free speech.” Sekulow is one of Trump’s longest-serving personal lawyers and was co-lead outside counsel for Donald Trump in his first impeachment trial.

Sekulow’s legal strategies and public defense of Trump during his presidency demonstrated his clear willingness to support and legitimize extreme measures that threaten democratic norms and judicial integrity. Throughout Donald Trump’s first impeachment trial, Sekulow made numerous false claims. He falsely claimed House Democrats delayed transmitting the articles of impeachment to the Senate for a longer period of time than was actually the case, and mischaracterized the impeachment process, stating Trump “was denied the right to cross-examine witnesses” during the House inquiry when, in fact, the White House declined to do so. Sekulow also incorrectly asserted Donald Trump was under investigation by the FBI before he took office, which was never the case. In one incident, Sekulow indignantly rebutted impeachment lawyers’ supposed complaint about “lawyer lawsuits,” a quote that reporters found “[did] not appear to exist” in the transcripts or recordings of the hearing. When asked, the Trump White House doubled down on Sekulow’s accusation, bringing into stark question its “devotion to the facts.”

While at ACLJ—launched in 1990 by evangelical minister Pat Robertson, with the stated “mandate to protect religious and constitutional freedoms”—Sekulow led crusades against church-state separation, women’s rights, and LGBTQ+ rights across the U.S. and abroad, as well as efforts to invalidate a common gun control measure, end affirmative action at universities, and strike down President Joe Biden’s student debt forgiveness plan. ACLJ Action, the 501(c)(4) advocacy arm of ACLJ, is a Project 2025 Advisory Board member and also represented the Heritage Foundation in its litigation against the Covid-19 vaccine mandate. ACLJ operates in the U.S and internationally, such as in East Africa where its proxies push anti-gay and anti-abortion policies.

Sekulow’s organizations have made the lawyer and his family very wealthy. “Nonprofit lawyers and ethics watchdog groups have for years raised questions about the business relationships between Sekulow’s nonprofit network and companies owned by family members,”Rolling Stone reported. Since 2001, the nonprofit network has funneled more than $145 million to Sekulow, his relatives, and companies affiliated with the family, according to research compiled by the progressive watchdog group Accountable.US. “Jay Sekulow is the latest case of textbook right-wing MAGA grift,” said Accountable.US president Caroline Ciccone. “These extremists will stop at nothing to force their radical, unpopular agenda on everyday Americans while personally profiting — this time to the tune of tens of millions of dollars.” The organizations are tax-exempt charities, and donations to the groups are tax deductible.

Sekulow has also been a longtime ally of Leonard Leo—Chairman of the board of directors of The Federalist Society—on nominations to the U.S. Supreme Court and other courts. Per reporting by Accountable.US, Sekulow has been a longtime trustee of the Supreme Court Historical Society, a “vehicle for those seeking access to” Supreme Court justices, as evidenced by the ease with which journalist Lauren Windsor was recently able to record Justice Alito at a Supreme Society dinner agreeing that the United States needs to fight to “return our country to a place of godliness.” According to Accountable.US, “The Supreme Society has regularly recognized Jay Sekulow and ACLJ for their donations and support, with Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Clarence Thomas presenting Sekulow awards on at least three different occasions.” ACLJ, under Sekulow, provided the seed money for Judicial Confirmation Network (now called the Judicial Crisis Network and the Concord Fund), which was originally housed in ACLJ’s offices, according to reporting from the Wall Street Journal in 2005.

Sekulow and his ACLJ are also vehemently anti-LGBTQ+. He said of the 2003 Supreme Court ruling that overturned a law banning same-sex couples from engaging in sexual intercourse: “By providing constitutional protection to same-sex sodomy, the Supreme Court strikes a damaging blow for the traditional family that will only intensify the legal battle to protect marriage and the traditional family.” He has also accused public schools of “[teaching] homosexual conduct,” equated bans on same-sex marriages with bans on marrying family members, fought against allowing LGBTQ+ children to participate in the Boy Scouts, and more.