Pro Tip: If you're ever considering hiring Ken Block to do research for you, consider again. And should you decide to go forward, be absolutely sure to get an ironclad NDA.
Otherwise, if Block finds it to his advantage, he might publicly disclose information he discovered while working for you that is contrary to your interests. And might even publicly denounce you as a liar!
After the 2020 election, the Trump campaign hired Block to look for evidence of voter fraud. He apparently found none of significance, and now has written a book disclosing his findings, and a column in USA Today accusing Trump of lying about the election.
Block appeared on today's Morning Joe to discuss the matter. And of all people, it was Mika Brzezinski who called him out on undermining his erstwhile client:
"So Ken, I'm assuming that your company, when they take on a client, they do work for them that is to stay private. That's part of the deal, probably, and part of making sure that you remain respected in the field So I guess my question is, what prompted you to completely unearth everything that you did for the former president?"
Block defended his decision by claiming that his work was going to become public anyhow, since it was disclosed to the January 6th committee and he has been subpoenaed by Jack Smith and Fani Willis.
He added:
"And ultimately, I don't have an NDA attached to any of the work that I did, which makes it possible for me to freely talk about my work now."
Even in the absence of an NDA, wouldn't professional ethics restrain Block from harming a client in this way? And as Mika put it, wouldn't keeping clients' matters private be "part of making sure that you remain respected in the field?"
Has Block perhaps calculated that the harm to his reputation and respect in the field was outweighed by the opportunity to cash in at this moment? Block's prioritizing the maximum monetary return on his book was made clear when he declined, on the basis that his book hasn't been published yet, to give details of the claims he apparently debunked,
So, good on Mika. And when it comes to hiring Ken Block . . . caveat emptor!
Note: As you'll see in the video, just before the Block interview, George Conway of the disgraced Lincoln Project predicted that Trump will spend the rest of his life in prison—"and should!"
Here's the transcript.
MSNBC
Morning Joe
1/4/24
6:20 am ETGEORGE CONWAY: I think he's not going to beat the clock. But he is running for his freedom. He's a man who's probably, in my estimation, going to spend the rest of his life in a federal or state prison. And should.
WILLIE GEIST: So Donald Trump, as we know was told again and again that the 2020 election was not stolen. Back in November of 2020, in fact, data expert Ken Block and his firm, Simpatico Software Systems, were hired by the Trump campaign to investigate allegations of voter fraud.
Ken now has a new piece in USA Today titled, "Trump paid me to find voter fraud. Then he lied after I found the 2020 election was not stolen." His book, "Disproven," will be released in March.
. . .
What were the specific claims the lawyers were making that you chased down?
KEN BLOCK: There were about 15 of them. We're a little bit ahead of where the book comes out, so I'm gonna hold those back a little bit. But I can tell you that some of the claims were really bonkers. They were, they were wild claims. They were easy to prove they were true -- that they were false. And there were other claims that relied on complex mathematical theories that took a little bit longer to figure out. But I was able, in every circumstance, to show the people that brought these claims forward that they just didn't apply and they weren't true.
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: So Ken, I'm assuming that your company, when they take on a client, they do work for them that is to stay private. That's part of the deal, probably, and part of making sure that you remain respected in the field.
So I guess my question is, what prompted you to completely unearth everything that you did for the former president?
BLOCK: Yeah. When I realized that the totality of my work was going to become public no matter what, my, the work, it was disclosed to the January 6th committee that my company had done the work. I've been subpoenaed by Jack Smith. I've been subpoenaed by Fani Willis in Fulton County, Georgia.
And ultimately, I don't have an NDA attached to any of the work that I did, which makes it possible for me to freely talk about my work now.
