MIKE DAVIS
A3P Founder
Mike Davis, the former Chief Counsel for Nominations to Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, is the founder and president of the Article III Project (A3P). A3P defends constitutionalist judges and the rule of law. Davis also leads the Internet Accountability Project (IAP), an advocacy organization fighting to rein in Big Tech, along with the Unsilenced Majority, an organization dedicated to opposing Cancel Culture and fighting back against the woke mob and their enablers.
As Chief Counsel for Nominations, Davis advised Chairman Grassley and other senators on the confirmation of federal judges and senior Executive Branch appointees, serving as staff lead for 30 hearings and 41 markup meetings. He oversaw the floor votes for 278 nominees, including the confirmations of Justice Brett Kavanaugh and the record number of circuit judges confirmed during President Trump’s first two years in office.
Davis has served in all three branches of the federal government, including for President
George W. Bush, the Justice Department, House Speaker Newt Gingrich, and current
Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch. Davis also led the outside support team for Justice
Gorsuch’s successful confirmation to the Supreme Court.
Before returning to public service in 2017, Davis spent nearly ten years as a civil litigator in Denver, working at one of the largest law firms in the world and one of the top-ranked law firms in Colorado before running his own law practice for more than five years.
Davis is from Des Moines, Iowa. He received his Bachelor of Arts in 2000 and Juris Doctor in 2004, both from the University of Iowa. In 2017, Davis received Iowa Law’s “Emerging Leader Award.” Davis also serves on the University of Iowa Political Science Advisory Board.
Ian Prior
Senior Counsel
Ian Prior is the Chief Executive Office of Headwaters Media. A communications and litigation expert, he has spent the past decade utilizing his experience at the crossroads of politics and media to successfully navigate some of the most challenging media environments in politics, government, and corporate America.
Most recently, Ian served as Vice President at Mercury Public Affairs, where he worked for several Fortune 500 companies, multi-million-dollar trade groups, and high level political campaigns.
Previously he was Principal Deputy Director of Public Affairs for the Department of Justice. Appointed to that role in March 2017, he served through July 2018. At DOJ, he helped provide strategic public affairs guidance to the Attorney General, Deputy Attorney General and Associate Attorney General. Ian also served as the primary spokesman and media strategist for the Department’s National Security Division and Antitrust Division. In addition, he managed the Department’s public affairs strategies to combat the deadly opioid crisis and enhance the nation’s cybersecurity.
Before serving at the Department of Justice, Ian served as the Communications Director for American Crossroads and Senate Leadership Fund in the 2016 cycle. In the 2014 cycle, he was the Northeast Regional Press Secretary at the National Republican Congressional Committee and was promoted to National Press Secretary and Deputy Communications Director following the 2014 election. He also managed the congressional campaign for former Rhode Island State Police Superintendent Brendan Doherty in 2012.
Ian hails from Rhode Island and earned a B.A. from Boston University and a J.D. and L.L.M in Banking and Financial Law from Boston University School of Law. Following law school and before transitioning to public relations and communications, he clerked for Chief Justice Frank Williams of the Rhode Island Supreme Court and worked as a lawyer at Edwards and Angell, Brown Rudnick, and the City of Boston Corporation Counsel’s office.
Ian is also a frequent guest commentator of Fox News where he discusses issues related to the Department of Justice, FBI, the Trump Administration, and political campaigns.
William Lane
Senior Counsel
William Lane is an attorney in Washington, DC, where he practices appellate and general commercial litigation. He has litigated extensively on matters relating to the Second Amendment and religious liberty. During the Trump Administration, William served in the Department of Justice, where he advised federal agencies and represented the United States in federal courts throughout the country. William has clerked for judges on both the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, in addition to serving as Special Counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee during the confirmation of Justice Neil M. Gorsuch to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Before practicing law, William served on active duty as a cavalry officer in the United States Army, deploying to Diyala Province, Iraq from 2010–2011. He earned his B.A., magna cum laude, and M.A. in government from Georgetown University, and his JD, magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School.
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