Roach describes himself as an “adjunct fellow” at the organization that publishes American Greatness, the Center for American Greatness—a right-wing think tank funded by dark money. Neither the Center for American Greatness nor its publisher, Buskirk, responded to a request for comment.
Roach, as noted in his author bio on American Greatness, also writes for Taki’s Magazine, another paleoconservative blog that hosts content from far-right figures like Proud Boys founder Gavin McInnes as well as white nationalists Jared Taylor and Richard Spencer.
An account called “Roach” is also very active in the comment section of the extremist website Occidental Dissent, run by Brad Griffin, a prominent member of the neo-Confederate, secessionist group League of the South, of which the Southern Poverty Law Center. designated a hate group.
Accounts using Roach’s name or his known aliases, such as Mansizedtarget and Roman Dmowski, also posted on the gun-focused forum Sniper’s Hide and a Jeep Wrangler fan site known as the Wrangler Forum.
Roach was, until recently, one of only two people who said they worked for Lawfair LLC, according to LinkedIn. Another person is founder Mortara, who is based in Tennessee, where the company is also registered.
Mortara, who graduated from the University of Chicago Law School after earning an undergraduate degree there and a masters in astrophysics from Cambridge, previously clerked for Clarence Thomas. Clerks of justice over the years have created a powerful network of conservative leaders in the legal system, the media, and at the highest levels of government.
In a comment section on a 2008 blog about Michelle Obama’s college thesis, a user identified as mansizedtarget.com said they worked on the “Gratz/Grutter Michigan affirmative action cases.” Both cases were argued before the Supreme Court during Mortara’s clerkship for Thomas.
Following nearly two decades at the high-profile Bartlit Beck firm in Chicago, where he specialized in intellectual property cases, Mortara formed Lawfair LLC, which he describes as a “civil and rights voting”. Mortara has also been a law lecturer at the University of Chicago, which did not respond to a request for comment, since 2007. For the past decade-plus, he has been involved in litigation over redistricting efforts in state legislatures. states of Texas and Wisconsin. Ultimately, he teamed up with the firm representing former president Donald Trump and the RNC, and pocketed an expected nearly $200,000 fee.
Lawfair LLC has almost no online presence, including no website and no social media presence, which Alejandra Caraballo, an instructor at Harvard Law School’s Cyberlaw Clinic, told WIRED is unusual.
“This is a boutique firm from a connected lawyer,” Caraballo said. “They basically only litigate culture war cases (hence the name law fair). It works through political connections.
Earlier this month, The Tennessean reported on an August 2023 letter signed by Tennessee governor Bill Lee approving the payment of $10,000 a month for two years to Lawfair LLC for its work on the case of gender-affirming care.
“The Tennessee Attorney General’s Office retains Adam Mortara, one of the best litigators in America, as outside counsel and has never had a relationship with any other attorney from Lawfair, LLC,” Amy Lannom Wilhite, the director of communications for to the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office, told WIRED.
Roach was not named as an attorney in any of the Supreme Court cases. Mortara did not respond to questions about how many attorneys worked or performed work for Lawfair and what Roach was working on at the firm after he joined, according to his online resume, in 2020—the same year the firm was founded. firm.
Update: 9/10/2024, 3:24 pm EST: This story was updated to reflect a comment Christopher Roach provided to WIRED after publication.
