Ian Bassin Explained

Ian Bassin is an American lawyer, writer, and activist who serves as executive director of Protect Democracy.[1] [2] He previously served as Associate White House Counsel under President Obama.[3]

In 2022, Washingtonian named Bassin one of the 500 most influential people in Washington, D.C.[4]

On October 4, 2023, it was announced that Bassin had been awarded a MacArthur Fellowship for "working to strengthen the structures, norms, and institutions of democratic governance in the United States."[5]

Education

Ian Bassin graduated with a B.A. from Wesleyan University in 1998 and a J.D. from Yale Law School in 2006.[6] [7] [8] While at Yale Law School, he and Justin Florence co-founded a group called "Law Students Against Alito," opposing the confirmation of Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court.[9]

Early career

In 2007, Ian joined the Obama campaign’s policy team, and later the Obama-Biden transition team.[10] [11] From 2009 to 2011, he served in the White House Counsel’s Office.[12] [13] As Associate White House Counsel, Ian worked on democracy issues and the rules that govern executive branch behavior.[14]

After leaving the White House, Ian was reportedly involved in a number of social activism efforts around the world.[15] In 2012, he helped organize a campaign that freed more than 100 migrant laborers in Bahrain who were being held against their will and in violation of international human rights law.[16] In 2013, Ian directed a litigation effort in South Africa that reaffirmed the right under the South African Constitution to publicly criticize the president.[17] He also helped with organizing efforts in support of Syrians during Bashar al-Assad’s war.[18]  In 2014, he was involved in a campaign to protect women’s rights in Afghanistan.[19]

In 2015, when he was Deputy Counsel to the Mayor of New York City, he was criticized by the New York Post for his early and public denunciation of Eric Garner's killing by New York Police Department officer Daniel Pantaleo.[20] [21] While Deputy Counsel to the Mayor, to reduce arrests of youth who danced on New York City subways, Ian created a city-sponsored training and performance program for street dancers called “It’s Showtime NYC.”[22] [23] He worked with the Chief of the NYPD Transit Division to divert subway dancers into the program, in lieu of arrest.[24]

In 2016, Ian was part of the team at GiveDirectly, a non-governmental organization operating in Kenya that launched one of the largest universal basic income experiments in history.[25]

Protect Democracy

In 2016, Ian also co-founded the nonprofit organization Protect Democracy.[3] [26] According to Time Magazine, Protect Democracy is a “defender of America’s system of government against the threat of authoritarianism.”[27] The organization includes progressives, moderates, and conservatives who have worked for Democratic and Republican elected officials.[28] [29]

In his role as executive director, Ian has been a frequent commentator on the state of American democracy, the dangers it faces, and what is needed to save it.[30] He is a critic of unchecked presidential war powers under both President Obama and President Trump.[31] [32] He was credited by The Daily Beast with causing then-candidate Joe Biden to clarify and walk back remarks suggesting he would defy a congressional subpoena during the first Trump impeachment.[33]

Bassin coined the term “autocratic capture," describing “a form of systemic corruption in which politicians have improper influence on private companies [and] use government power to put pressure on businessmen and to force them, or their employees, to toe a political line.”[34]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: What Might Accountability For President Trump Look Like?. 2021-05-24. NPR.org. en.
  2. News: Williamson. Elizabeth. 2021-01-11. Beyond Impeachment, a Push for Ethics Laws That Do Not Depend on Shame. en-US. The New York Times. 2021-05-24. 0362-4331.
  3. Web site: Dovere. Edward-Isaac. Obama lawyers form 'worst-case scenario' group to tackle Trump. 2021-05-24. POLITICO. en.
  4. Web site: 2022-05-03 . Washington DC's 500 Most Influential People . 2022-05-11 . en-US.
  5. Web site: Ian Bassin . 2024-07-03 . www.macfound.org . en.
  6. Web site: Bassin '98 Named Deputy Associate Counsel. 2021-05-24. News @ Wesleyan. en-US.
  7. Web site: Profs tackle future of Supreme Court - Yale Daily News. 2021-05-24. yaledailynews.com. en.
  8. Web site: 2019-11-01. Ian Bassin: What a Collapsing Middle Class Means for Democracy. 2021-05-24. Literary Hub. en-US.
  9. News: Liptak . Adam . 2005-11-13 . Yale Law Frets Over Court Choices It Knows Best . en-US . The New York Times . 2022-05-09 . 0362-4331.
  10. Web site: McNeil. Michele. 2008-12-01. UPDATED: Obama's Ed Policy Working Group. 2021-05-24. Education Week. en.
  11. Web site: 2008-11-28. President-Elect Obama Selects Dr. John H. Jackson, Schott Foundation President and CEO, to serve on Obama-Biden Transition Team. 2021-05-24. Schott Foundation for Public Education. en.
  12. Web site: Obama Announces Key Additions to the Office of the White House Counsel. 2021-05-24. The White House. en.
  13. Web site: Lithwick. Dahlia. 2019-03-16. Former White House Lawyer Ian Bassin on His Legal Strategy for Combating Authoritarianism. 2021-05-24. Slate Magazine. en.
  14. Web site: Dovere . Edward-Isaac . Obama lawyers form 'worst-case scenario' group to tackle Trump . 2022-03-01 . POLITICO . en.
  15. Web site: UNGA Session Draws Broad Palette of Protesters Voice of America - English. 2021-05-24. www.voanews.com. en.
  16. Web site: TN villager wins a battle for Bahrain's Indian workers. https://web.archive.org/web/20210524151147/https://www.sify.com/news/tn-villager-wins-a-battle-for-bahrains-indian-workers-news-columns-mhsrX9begjisi.html. dead. May 24, 2021. 2021-05-24. Sify. en.
  17. Web site: Boost for war on lion bone trade . 2022-03-01 . www.iol.co.za . en.
  18. Web site: UNGA Session Draws Broad Palette of Protesters . 2022-05-12 . VOA . en.
  19. Web site: 1 million sign petition against new Afghan law to protect women abusers . 2022-05-12 . AvaPress Breaking Updated news and Latest headlines from Afghanistan . en.
  20. Web site: Board. Post Editorial. 2014-07-24. Mayor's lawyer cops out. 2022-02-11. New York Post. en-US.
  21. Web site: 2014-07-24. Cops furious over de Blasio lawyer's apology tweet to 'chokehold' victim. 2022-02-11. New York Post. en-US.
  22. News: Goodman. J. David. Flegenheimer. Matt. 2015-09-15. Instead of Arrests, Subway Dancers Are Getting a Stage Above Ground. en-US. The New York Times. 2022-02-11. 0362-4331.
  23. Web site: It's Showtime NYC. 2022-02-11. It's Showtime NYC. en-US.
  24. News: Goodman. J. David. Flegenheimer. Matt. 2015-09-15. Instead of Arrests, Subway Dancers Are Getting a Stage Above Ground. en-US. The New York Times. 2022-02-11. 0362-4331.
  25. News: Lowrey . Annie . 2017-02-23 . The Future of Not Working . en-US . The New York Times . 2022-03-01 . 0362-4331.
  26. Kroll. Andy. 2020-06-23. Donald Trump's Presidency Is a Saturday-Night Massacre That Never Ends. 2021-05-24. Rolling Stone. en-US.
  27. Trench Lawfare: Inside the Battles to Save Democracy From the Trump Administration. 2021-05-24. Time. en.
  28. News: Opinion Here's how we'll recover from Trump. 2021-05-24. Washington Post. en-US.
  29. Web site: People Archive. 2021-05-24. Protect Democracy. en.
  30. Web site: United to Protect Democracy. 2021-05-24. WGBH. en.
  31. News: Bassin. Ian. Florence. Justin. 2019-04-01. Opinion Trump's Acts Show the Urgent Need to Curb the Imperial Presidency. en-US. The New York Times. 2021-05-24. 0362-4331.
  32. Web site: Bassin. Ian. 2013-08-30. How Obama Can Get Out of the Syrian Bind He's In. 2021-05-24. HuffPost. en.
  33. News: Nadeau. Barbie Latza. 2019-12-28. Biden Says He Would Defy Impeachment Subpoena—Then Tries to 'Clarify'. en. The Daily Beast. 2022-02-22.
  34. News: Opinion How tragic that a Republican president is undermining economic and political freedom. en-US. Washington Post. 2022-02-22. 0190-8286.

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