Shakespeare famously wrote in Henry VI, Part II: “The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.” Sometimes, though, they come in handy—as pro wrestler Hulk Hogan found in his case against website Gawker.
GQ political correspondent Jason Zengerle’s recent profile of Charles Harder, the attorney who represented Terry “Hulk Hogan” Bollea in his suit against Gawker, reveals a disarming, but nonetheless cunning, man.
A former journalist in his own right, Harder was a rank-and-file entertainment lawyer before Bollea v. Gawker Media boosted his public profile. Now he’s representing Roger Ailes, Melania Trump, and possibly President-elect Donald Trump, if he makes good on his threat to sue The New York Times for “irresponsible intent.”
Obviously, Harder isn’t hugely popular in journalistic circles these days. Gawker founder Nick Denton has said that Harder “certainly seems intent on instilling fear in other publications by threatening them with Gawker’s fate,” and he’s not alone. Harder’s business relationship with Peter Thiel, who personally bankrolled the suit against Gawker, has many reporters concerned about the extent to which wealthy elites can threaten the press for unflattering coverage.
Harder isn’t losing any sleep over his enemies in the press, though. He told Newsweek that he’s not worried about his reputation. “If [the Gawker case] has a chilling effect on irresponsible journalism? Awesome!” he said. He went further in his interview with GQ, lamenting that “the courts are largely pro–First Amendment” and denouncing the “actual malice” standard for libel suits.
And for all that, Zengerle notes that Harder isn’t some intense, joyless ghoul in person; he’s actually polite and gracious to a fault, and treated Zengerle way more courteously than expected from a guy who supposedly hates journalists.
That might be the most startling thing about Charles Harder, in fact. Far from being a rabid ideologue, he conducts himself as a lawyer simply doing his job. That said, the long-term consequences of his job remain to be seen.
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