Records cited by Just the News show attorneys from the States United Democracy Center worked with state prosecutors on 2020 elector-related cases, including through special attorney appointments, pro bono arrangements and common interest agreements.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
A nonprofit led by former Obama administration ambassador and Trump critic Norm Eisen worked with Democratic attorneys general and prosecutors in multiple states on cases involving supporters of President Donald Trump who organized alternate electors after the 2020 election, according to tax filings, internal memos and public records cited in a Just the News report.
The records show that Eisen’s States United Democracy Center provided legal assistance, memoranda and other support to state officials involved in investigations or prosecutions connected to Trump’s 2020 election challenges. In at least one state, Minnesota, attorneys from the group were formally sworn in as special attorneys serving under the state attorney general, according to the documents.
The arrangements have prompted questions from critics about the role of privately funded outside lawyers in criminal and civil enforcement matters handled by elected prosecutors. Mike Davis, a former Republican Senate Judiciary Committee lawyer who later founded the Article III Project, told Just the News the practice was improper.
“This is highly inappropriate for left-wing nonprofits to become the prosecutors against their political enemies,” Davis said.
The use of outside attorneys by state and local prosecutors has become a point of dispute in several high-profile matters. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis hired a private attorney she was dating, while New York prosecutors received assistance in climate litigation from a nonprofit funded by Michael Bloomberg. The records involving States United add another example to the broader debate over how much influence private legal organizations should have in public prosecutions.
In Arizona, former Trump lawyer Christina Bobb, who was charged in the state’s 2020 election prosecution, sought a hearing last year on States United’s involvement as part of her effort to disqualify Democratic Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes from the case. Bobb’s filing argued that Eisen’s organization could not be separated from Democratic political interests.
“States United, as ‘an initiative of’ PSLC/DAGA, has an inherent conflict and cannot impartially participate in the prosecution of their obvious political opponents,” Bobb wrote in the motion. “Kris Mayes had an obligation to disclose that the organization she hired, allegedly pro bono, to advise her on prosecuting prominent Republicans is effectively an initiative of DAGA, which is a committee of the Democratic Party. Instead, she tried to cover it up.”
Bobb has pleaded not guilty. A trial date had been set for Jan. 5, 2026, though procedural motions delayed the case. The Arizona Supreme Court has thrown out the charges, but Mayes has vowed to restore them.
In an interview with Just the News, Bobb said the records should draw attention from members of Congress and other officials who could later face similar tactics.
“Exchanging governmental authority for political access and funding is a surefire way to ensure everyday Americans lose their voice and end up in prison for disagreeing with those in power,” Bobb said. “We have to stop pretending that this type of activity isn’t happening.
“People are so overwhelmed by the corruption that many (elected officials included) want to bury their head in the sand and hope it goes away. It’s not going away. It’s getting worse,” she added. “…This prosecution enterprise is now targeting conservative officials. These elected leaders will have a rude awakening when this prosecution network targets them and no one cares.”
Eisen did not respond to an inquiry from Just the News before publication.
The States United Democracy Center describes itself as “a nonpartisan organization dedicated to the rule of law and free, fair, secure elections” that provides “direct support to state officials and law enforcement leaders as they uphold our system of checks and balances, protect public safety, and preserve our democracy.”
The organization has a bipartisan advisory board, though some Republican members have been outspoken critics of Trump. Former New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman urged Republicans in Congress to vote to impeach Trump over his 2020 election claims. Eisen also has publicly supported prosecutions involving Trump and in 2023 co-authored a New York Times essay titled “How to convict Trump.”
Financial records also show ties between States United and Democratic-aligned legal and political networks. According to the group’s 2023 tax filings, States United paid more than $100,000 to the law group of Democratic election lawyer Marc Elias as an independent contractor.
States United grew out of the Voter Protection Program, which had the same director, Joanna Lydgate, and many of the same bipartisan board members. A 2020 press release announcing the Voter Protection Program remains posted on States United’s website and described the program as “a nonpartisan initiative of the Progressive State Leaders Committee.”
The Progressive State Leaders Committee’s tax documents state that “compensation for officers of PSLC is issued by Democratic Attorney Generals Association (DAGA), an unrelated organization for tax purposes.” The filings also state that PSLC reimburses DAGA for time spent on PSLC business, including salary and benefits for PSLC President Sean Rankin, who is also DAGA’s executive director.
DAGA’s tax forms identify PSLC as its largest listed contributor, with more than $11 million received from PSLC over time. DAGA’s executive committee has included officials whose offices had ties to States United’s work, including Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford and Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell.
States United has publicly denied that it was a program of PSLC. In an Arizona court matter, an attorney for the group said States United “has never been a part or program of” PSLC, according to KJZZ.
In Minnesota, Ellison, a former deputy chair of the Democratic National Committee, appointed States United Senior Vice President of Legal Christine P. Sun and the organization itself in June 2023 as “Special Attorneys to serve at the pleasure of the Attorney General specifically to provide legal services to the Attorney General.”
Under the appointment, Sun and States United were to receive no benefits, compensation or reimbursement for expenses. Their client was Ellison, and their work was subject to examination by the attorney general and the Minnesota Legislative Auditor. The arrangement also required compliance with the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act if records were requested. The special attorneys were directed not to speak to the media about their work without approval from the attorney general’s office.
Images of the Minnesota agreement published by Just the News show one page of the contract and another page documenting the arrangement between Ellison’s office and States United.
The month before the Minnesota partnership, Arizona’s attorney general’s office accepted an offer from States United to provide pro bono work advising the state on election-integrity legal strategy, according to documents obtained by Just the News. Mayes’ chief of staff accepted the offer, which was signed by Sun.
A States United memorandum later became part of the Arizona case record after it was used in support of search warrants. In a Dec. 12, 2024, email to lawyers representing Arizona electors targeted by the attorney general, Kimberly Hunley, senior litigation counsel for the Arizona attorney general’s criminal division, wrote that a July 25, 2023, States United memorandum had been “submitted as an attachment to several search warrants.”
Because the memo was attached to the warrants, it was turned over as part of discovery. Hunley wrote that “the State did not intend to provide the July 25, 2023, memorandum” but had intended to provide a “publicly-available memorandum from States United.” Just the News published an image of the email.
The July 25, 2023, memorandum was a 47-page document that “details important facts about the Arizona scheme and the false electors based on publicly available information and analyzes potential criminal violations committed by the false electors and others involved in the scheme.” The document also discussed possible defenses and cited Arizona statutes while outlining a potential legal case involving those who questioned the 2020 election.
Other Arizona records cited by Just the News show additional links between Democratic-aligned groups and the state attorney general’s office. On Sept. 5, 2023, nearly a year after Mayes was elected, DAGA sent $50,000 to Mayes’ legal fund. The payment came a few months after the office agreed to work with States United on a pro bono basis and near the start of the office’s grand jury investigation involving Trump electors.
Eighteen months later, DAGA sent another $150,000 to Mayes’ legal fund. That second payment came one month after more than a dozen Trump supporters were arrested and accused of conspiring to challenge Trump’s 2020 loss in Arizona. An assistant attorney general in Arizona previously denied connections between DAGA and States United, while not disputing the timing of the payments.
In May 2025, a Superior Court judge dismissed the indictments. The Arizona Supreme Court recently affirmed that decision.
Hunley’s email also stated that Arizona prosecutors would not provide additional information from States United in discovery because of attorney-client privilege, except for the engagement letter between the attorney general’s office and the group. The accidental attachment of the memorandum revealed States United’s involvement to defense attorneys.
The organization’s work was not limited to Arizona. Judicial Watch previously reported that Michigan records showed coordination between the state attorney general’s office and States United on indictments involving Trump supporters. Those charges were later dismissed by a judge.
The Michigan records included an email from States United litigator Jonathan Williams to Heather S. Meingast, division chief of the Michigan attorney general’s civil rights and election division. Williams wrote: “Following up on our earlier conversations regarding the USPS, in collaboration with our clients in Nevada, we’ve put together a draft Common Interest Agreement for your consideration. Once we’ve got everyone on board, we can schedule a multi-state call to discuss further. Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns.”
Similar common interest agreements appeared in records from other states. In Nevada, States United emailed Attorney General Aaron Ford asking him to join other governors, including those of Minnesota and Michigan, in signing the common interest letter. Solicitor General Heidi Parry Stern’s executive assistant agreed to sign the letter and asked that Stern be included in future communications.
Ford also signed a contract with States United for pro bono legal services during 2024 and 2025.
The common interest letter was sent to additional states, including Wisconsin, and included signatures from the attorneys general of Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Mexico and Vermont. Illinois also signed an engagement letter for States United to provide pro bono advice on “the interplay between federal, state, and local authority.” Several Democratic governors, former Republican governors and the secretaries of state for Arizona, Maine and Minnesota were also included.
Documents obtained through a Judicial Watch public records request in Nevada also indicated that Ford’s office worked with former Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith, who prosecuted Trump over his objections to the 2020 election and classified documents, even though Trump has said that, as president, he had the authority to declassify those documents.
Judicial Watch requested “Any communications and/or documents with Jack Smith and/or the DOJ special Counsel group/team from January 1 2022, to the completion of this request.” Ford responded that his office had “identified records that may not be released because the requested records are protected by common interest privilege.”
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