Launching January 2027
No American Should Face Weaponized Lawfare Alone.
The Oversight Project is building a public-interest law firm to defend the rule of law, protect constitutional rights, and stand with Americans targeted for speaking, serving, or participating in civic life.
We will bring litigation and protect those in need. This will be supported by our world-class investigative and public educational services so Americans can understand the nature of threats against them and our constitutional Republic.
Oversight Project Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. Gifts are expected to be tax-deductible.*
Why a Firm, Not a Fund
Built to Last, Not to Reimburse
Legal defense funds pass donor dollars to private firms that can bill $1,000 an hour or more. $250,000 buys about 250 hours, roughly six weeks of one lawyer, and the case usually outlasts the money. The same $250,000 funds a dedicated in-house attorney for a full year. That is roughly nine times the work per donor dollar, from lawyers who chose public service over a bigger paycheck.
What $250,000 buys
Estimated total annual cost of median in-house attorney, including compensation
~$250,000
The Inspiration
He Came to Washington to Serve. Then the Subpoena Came.
A young staffer with no power and no fortune. Then a congressional committee served him with an invasive subpoena. Private firms quoted him tens of thousands of dollars just to respond. He had a friend who happened to be an oversight lawyer. Most Americans targeted by lawfare do not. That is the point. Every young American who watches this happen learns the lesson its architects intend: stay out.
Why Now
When the Law Becomes a Weapon, Everyone Is a Target
The lawfare that became commonplace in 2021 is dangerous for America. Faith in our legal institutions is collapsing — and a question once settled is being reopened: will America be governed by the rule of law, or by mob rule and shifting ideological notions of ‘fairness’? As Marxist and socialist movements gain ground, the law itself is becoming contested terrain, ignored when inconvenient and weaponized when useful. Courts, bar associations, and investigations are increasingly used as vectors of ideological punishment, imposing penalties that were once left to the ballot box. The aim is deterrence: punish those who speak, serve, or represent the wrong clients, and warn the next generation away from civic life. We will stand in the breach to preserve the rule of law.
They Are Telling You What They Intend
"...not only bring the grievances in the bar complaints, but shame them and make them toxic in their communities and in their firms."
DAVID BROCK
Founder, The 65 Project · Axios, March 2022
"I want young people coming out of school to say, 'Should I go work for the Trump administration?' … I want them to be like, 'Lord, that might be buying myself a ton of problems that I don't want.' … I want that deterrence message sent."
SEN. ELISSA SLOTKIN
U.S. Senator, Michigan · University of Chicago, October 2026
"This is not going to be an instance of forgive and forget. The damage that these people are doing is too severe to the American people and to our national interest."
SUSAN RICE
Former National Security Advisor · Preet Bharara's podcast, February 2026AND THE CLIMATE IN WHICH THOSE THREATS ARE MADE
"I'm predicting that of the 74 million [2020 Trump voters], in terms of the real hard-core mind-control cultist, I think we're probably looking at 10 to 30 million."
STEVEN HASSAN
Author and "cult expert," on Trump voters · Vanity Fair, January 2021Deterrence, abuse, and pain are their strategy. An offensive response that also protects underserved and vulnerable patriots is the answer. A full-time assault on American values requires a full-time response. No more renting life-saving care.
What the Firm Will Do
A Permanent Defense for the Rule of Law
01
Defend Against Lawfare
Representation for Americans targeted by abusive investigations, subpoenas, prosecutions, and bar complaints brought for political ends.
02
Protect Constitutional Rights
Litigation on free speech, political association, religious liberty, the right to petition, and the integrity of our elections. We will also bring aggressive challenges, informed by best-in-class investigations and public messaging, against those launching the attacks on the rule of law.
03
Check Government Overreach
Challenges to administrative and agency actions that exceed their legal authority.
04
Restore Accountability
Where the facts warrant, counter-complaints and claims for abuse of process, so those who misuse the legal system bear the cost.
Cases will be selected by an independent committee based on their importance to constitutional rights and the public interest.
Leadership
A Law Firm Led by Those Who Know the Fight
Because they've already been through it.
The Firm
Jeff Clark
Chairman of the Oversight Project Law Firm
Former Senate-confirmed Assistant Attorney General at the U.S. Department of Justice, former acting Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, and former partner at a leading international law firm. He knows firsthand what it means to be targeted, and he is building the institution he never had.
Julianne Murray
Managing Director
Former U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware. She brings her experience leading a federal prosecutor's office and managing a law firm to help build and lead the firm. She has a record of challenging government overreach and representing people in need pro bono.
Joseph Schmitz
Distinguished Constitutional Fellow
Former Senate-confirmed Inspector General of the Department of Defense and former partner at Patton Boggs. He clerked on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and served as Special Assistant to Attorney General Edwin Meese III.
Neal Cornett
Director of State Litigation
Neal Cornett has litigated open records laws in state courts across the country. He previously served as counsel to the Kentucky Senate President and in the Kentucky Department for Local Government.
Marshall Yates
Strategic Counsel
Former Assistant Director of the FBI's Office of Congressional Affairs and a key staffer on the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government. He also contributed to the Justice Department's Weaponization Working Group.
Sam Dewey
Senior Litigator
Former Chief Investigator and Counsel for the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging and Senior Counsel for the House Financial Services Committee. He also served as legal counsel for The Heritage Foundation and as counsel at McDermott Will & Emery. He earned his J.D. from Harvard Law School.
Foundation Leadership
Mike Howell
President
Mike Howell leads The Oversight Project. He has held senior oversight positions in the Executive Branch and on Capitol Hill and has represented private parties in oversight and investigation matters, including pro bono representation of a young White House staffer subpoenaed by the January 6 Committee. He is a graduate of Duke University and Emory Law School.
Jason Chaffetz
Chairman of the Advisory Board
Former Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Jason Chaffetz represented Utah in Congress from 2009 to 2017.
Kyle Brosnan
General Counsel
Former Chief Counsel of the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, Kyle Brosnan brings more than a decade of congressional oversight and investigative experience. He served in senior roles at the Departments of Health and Human Services and Homeland Security in the first Trump Administration. He holds a JD and bachelor's degree from The George Washington University.
A Proven Record
Building on The Oversight Project's long record of providing premier legal services pro bono.
FROM THOSE WE'VE DEFENDED
"The ACLU was founded to protect freedom of speech and civil liberties. Subpoenaing a journalist for its sources on a news story is contrary to everything they were originally founded upon. The ACLU has sadly become just another leftwing activist organization. When we didn't have anywhere else to turn we called the Oversight Project. The Oversight Project responded immediately and came to our defense. There are too few organizations willing to come to the legal defense of aligned groups, but the Oversight Project is always there."
CHAYA RAICHIK
Libs of TikTok
"The swamp in South Carolina came after us conservatives. We called the Oversight Project and they were down here to step into the fight immediately and help us keep our team on the field."
JORDAN PACE
South Carolina State Representative
"When the Southern Poverty Law Center was targeting parents for being involved in their children's schools, The Oversight Project jumped in to help us. They were able to pry out records showing that these attacks were coordinated with the Biden Administration."
TIFFANY JUSTICE
Co-founder, Moms for Liberty
"When the FBI contacted me because I was at the US Capitol on January 6, I was terrified. Julianne was my first phone call and she immediately stepped in and represented me pro bono. I cannot imagine going through questioning by the FBI without representation and I didn't have the means to pay anyone. Julianne was more worried about protecting my rights than getting paid."
NICK MILES
January 6th target
"The Oversight Project stands out. Their professionalism, the quality of their research, and the way they executed this case were first-rate. They treated the facts like they mattered and the process like it had to be done the right way. That is exactly the kind of partner you want when the stakes are this high."
MATT MORGAN
Maryland Delegate
"Truth still matters. When political operatives and their media allies spread falsehoods about our work, they are not just attacking True the Vote, they are attacking the millions of Americans who expect honest elections and honest reporting. We are grateful to the Oversight Project for standing in the gap so we can stay focused on securing America's elections."
CATHERINE ENGELBRECHT
True the Vote
"A campaign to silence, impoverish, and imprison American patriots has turned the greatest legal system on earth into a weapon.I read about it, and then felt its fangs. In September 2026, a Pentagon-based, active-duty U.S. Army Colonel – sworn to defend the Constitution – entered the court system to try to squash my First Amendment rights and destroy my family financially.Until now, there was no place to go when targeted by malicious lawfare. Thank God for the Oversight Project Law Firm. We owe it, Jeff Clark, and Sam Dewey not just a debt of gratitude, but our support."
DR. CHASE SPEARS
WHY THEY BACK THE FIRM
"Spread the word. The Left's lawfare is not going anywhere. Conservatives need legal defense operations large enough to stand up to it. The Oversight Project is doing great work to build that capacity."
DR. KEVIN ROBERTS
President, The Heritage Foundation, primary partner of The Oversight Project
"To begin, I'm funding a new, offensive-oriented public interest law firm, which will be led by Jeff Clark. Good philanthropy depends largely on identifying the right man for the job. Jeff is the right man for this job. He knows Lawfare from the inside."
TOM KLINGENSTEIN
Philanthropist
"This is great news. Jeff Clark, who, along with my colleague Dr. John Eastman (and many others), has been abused and hounded by leftwing-lawfare for years, can stay on offense at the Oversight Project, headed up by the indefatigable Mike Howell, a Claremont Institute Lincoln Alum."
RYAN WILLIAMS
President, The Claremont Institute
"An EXTREMELY important effort. For years, people have justly complained there was no org dedicated to fighting against the constant onslaught of unanswered leftist lawfare. Proud to be on the board of the Oversight Project: we are done talking. We're doing it. Support."
DR. MATTHEW PETERSON
Board Member, The Oversight Project
Built on Proven Investigations
Backed by a Best-in-Class Investigations Team
The team that brought America the Autopen Scandal.
The firm joins The Oversight Project's FOIA litigation, research, and open-source investigations team, which has won the release of records federal agencies fought to keep hidden. Our Doc Depot gives the public an AI-searchable archive of more than 3.8 million pages of government records, and it grows every week.
3.8M+
Pages of Public Records
162,000+
Documents in the Doc Depot
Investigations & Research
Tom Olohan
Vice President of Investigations
A retired FBI special agent and attorney, Tom received the Attorney General's Award for Excellence in Furthering the Interests of U.S. National Security and the FBI Director's Award for Excellence.
Alex Finnegan
Director of Digital Capabilities
A former National Security Agency data scientist with a PhD in physics, Alex applies statistics, programming, and AI to large datasets.
Frank Hartle
Deputy Director of Investigations
Retired Federal Air Marshal and Pittsburgh Police Officer and Detective. Associate Professor at Robert Morris University.
DataRepublican
Visiting Fellow
One of the most-followed data analysts on X, mapping the networks of money and influence behind public institutions.
The American Answer
We Are Not Weak
"Sir, we are not weak if we make a proper use of those means which the God of nature hath placed in our power."
"Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance by lying supinely on our backs and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot? Sir, we are not weak if we make a proper use of those means which the God of nature hath placed in our power. The millions of people, armed in the holy cause of liberty, and in such a country as that which we possess, are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against us. Besides, sir, we shall not fight our battles alone. There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations, and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us. The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave."
PATRICK HENRY · ST. JOHN'S CHURCH, RICHMOND, VIRGINIA · MARCH 23, 1775
"The opponents of America have been fighting full-time. Now is the time for a full-time fight back. We will sacrifice if you support. We will save America this way and keep patriots on the field and opponents of America on the defense. No more sitting back and taking it."
A New Way to Give
A New 501(c)(3). For the First Time, Tax-Deductible.*
Oversight Project Foundation is a new 501(c)(3) charitable organization, separate from The Oversight Project's existing 501(c)(4). For the first time, supporters can fund our public-interest law firm, investigations, and public-education work through an organization whose contributions are expected to be tax-deductible.* Our legislative advocacy will continue through our affiliated 501(c)(4), a separate organization with separate funds.
Oversight Project Foundation · 501(c)(3)
- Public-interest law firm
- Investigations & research
- Public education, including the Doc Depot
- Contributions expected to be tax-deductible.*
The Oversight Project · 501(c)(4)
- Legislative advocacy
- Special projects
- Affiliated, separate organization
- Contributions are not tax-deductible.
Already a supporter of The Oversight Project? Thank you. The Foundation is a new, additional way to support our legal and investigative work.
*The Oversight Project Foundation is in the process of applying to the Internal Revenue Service for recognition of its tax-exempt status under Internal Revenue Code section 501(c)(3). As a public benefit nonprofit corporation, a charitable organization, and a public interest law firm, we expect to be recognized as exempt by the IRS and for our exemption to be effective retroactively to our date of incorporation, August 24, 2026. If and when our exemption is recognized, contributions made during this period will be considered tax deductible.
Your Support
Help Us Build It
As a 501(c)(3) public-interest law firm, Oversight Project Foundation expands the ways supporters can help us build the institution America needs, including through foundations and donor-advised funds once our tax-exempt status is recognized.
We are constructing this institution now: recruiting talent, building the firm, and preparing for the fights ahead to defend our constitutional republic. Your support will help:
- Launch the public-interest law firm and recruit the attorneys who will staff it
- Continue hard-hitting investigations into corruption, government abuse, and the chilling of constitutional rights
- Advance the data-mapping work of DataRepublican so citizens can see for themselves how power and money move