Renowned conservative former Judge Michael Luttig announced his support for Vice President Kamala Harris in the forthcoming presidential election, claiming that former President Donald Trump has “corrupted America’s Democracy.”

Luttig, who was appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit by President George H. W. Bush and was considered for a Supreme Court position by President George W. Bush, acknowledged that his policy views greatly differ from Harris’. However, he stated that this difference is insignificant in the context of the upcoming November election.

“For me, this election is irrelevant to her positions on any matters aside from America’s Democracy, the Constitution, and the Rule of Law, and I believe all Americans should share this view,” Luttig explained in his endorsement statement to CNN.

A significant figure in the Republican Party

Prior to his judicial career, Luttig clerked for Antonin Scalia, a Republican appointee on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, and for Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren Burger, also a Republican. He held positions in the Reagan and first Bush administrations before becoming a judge.

He was well-respected among conservative thinkers and was referenced by Vice President Mike Pence when Pence concluded that he lacked the authority to change the results of the 2020 presidential election.

Whether intentionally or not, Luttig may have aided Trump by writing a January 2021 op-ed in the Washington Post that contended the U.S. Senate could not hold an impeachment trial against Trump after he left office. Some Republicans utilized Luttig’s opinion when resisting a conviction of Trump, which could have prevented him from seeking the presidency again.

Regardless, Luttig has maintained that Trump sought to overturn the election results unlawfully. Over the past year, he even supported a failed Supreme Court appeal aimed at disqualifying Trump from the ballot based on a constitutional clause preventing those engaged in insurrection from holding office.

In his endorsement of Harris, Luttig notably skipped naming Trump, consistently referring to the Republican presidential candidate as the “former president” throughout his nearly five-page statement.

Nonetheless, the focus of the statement was primarily on Trump. Luttig asserted that Trump lost the 2020 election “fairly,” which aligns with the findings of multiple recounts and audits. However, many Americans still believe the result was fraudulent based on Trump’s unfounded claims. Luttig warned that this belief poses a danger to constitutional governance.

“Through his inexplicable fixation on denying, justifying, and even glorifying the events of January 6, and by pushing Americans to believe the 2020 election was stolen despite knowing it was not, the former president has undermined American democracy,” Luttig expressed.

This endorsement comes as Harris is set to deliver her acceptance speech for the Democratic presidential nomination on Thursday at the party’s national convention in Chicago. President Joe Biden is expected to speak in a primetime slot on Monday evening.