Lawyers Victims of Trumps Vendetta





Trump's attack on the rule of law also hits law firms that 'oppose him'



President Donald Trump has launched a crackdown on a number of major law firms that have cooperated in lawsuits against him or represented victims of his policies, in a move seen by lawyers as a new assault by the Trump administration on the independence of the U.S. justice system.

Bert Lanting is foreign editor of the Dutch Volkskrant. He writes about Russia and the US.

March 28, 2025, 12:25

Trump on Thursday announced an executive order punitive measures against the WilmerHale law firm, where former FBI director Robert Mueller worked. Mueller, who served as special counsel, investigated ties between Trump's campaign and Russia in the 2016 election.

After completing his investigation, Mueller returned to WilmerHale, where the office "rewarded" him for his role in "one of the most biased investigations in American history," according to the executive order. Trump also accused the office of helping "sabotage efforts to deport illegal immigrants."

As punishment, Trump has ordered all government agencies to terminate their contracts with the firm and has also cut off WilmerHale's attorneys from accessing confidential government documents.

Punitive expedition

Earlier, several other major law firms had already fallen victim to Trump's punitive expedition, including Covington & Burling. Some of that firm's lawyers cooperated with special counsel Jack Smith's (now discontinued) investigation into Trump for his attempts to sabotage the election victory of his rival Joe Biden.

The renowned law firm Paul, Weiss, which has been around for 150 years and employs more than 1,000 lawyers, was also threatened by presidential decree. Trump's anger is directed primarily at Mark Pomerantz, a top lawyer at the firm. He cooperated for a time with the New York investigation into Trump's financial dealings.

Perhaps worst of all was the White House's threat that the law firm's clients will also lose their government contracts unless they cut ties with Paul, Weiss.

The American Bar Association called on its members to rally against Trump's new assault on the American legal system. According to the association, the legal profession cannot accept a system in which lawyers "who agree with the government are rewarded while those who do not are punished."

Judiciary

Since Trump took office, another pillar of the American legal system has come under fire: the judiciary. In recent times, the White House has been openly at war with judges who have obstructed Trump’s mass layoffs, government agency closures and other controversial decisions.

Trump even called for the removal of a judge who had banned the deportation of alleged Venezuelan gang members. Trump dismissed the judge as a "radical leftist nutcase" and flatly ignored his ruling.

Trump’s offensive against the legal profession is perhaps even more dangerous, because it threatens the business model of law firms. Perkins Coie, another high-profile firm that Trump has punished, has already seen clients leave because of fears for the White House.

Perkins Coie, so far the only one, went to court to stop Trump. The judge, Beryl Howell, largely agreed with the office and ruled that the White House may not take punitive measures for the time being. According to her, these are unconstitutional because there was no legal process beforehand. The White House's actions sent "shivers down my spine," she said.

Despite the American Bar Association’s call to defend the legal system, most firms remain silent. Few prominent lawyers were willing to join a legal declaration of support for Perkins Coie during the trial.

Capitulation

Indicative of the panic in the legal profession is that even the powerful law firm of Paul, Weiss has caved in. According to The New York Times, the firm initially considered joining forces with other firms to file a lawsuit against the White House, but ultimately caved in. The firm feared losing important clients like ExxonMobil.

The firm has pledged to do $40 million in pro bono cases for organizations Trump supports and has backed away from diversity issues Trump detests.

According to Trump, CEO Bard Karp, who was known as an active fundraiser for the Democrats, went even further by stating that his top lawyer Pomerantz had committed "malfeasance in office" by cooperating with an investigation into Trump.

Trump crowed victory after the capitulation of the prestigious firm. 'You see what we've done to the universities. They all kneel down and say, thank you, sir.' Even the firms that had previously attacked him 'mercilessly, violently and illegally' now say, according to Trump, that they 'want to make a deal'.

Bad omen

Paul Weiss's knee-jerk reaction bodes ill, according to James Zirin, a former New York attorney general. "If such a large, powerful, talented office can't stand up to Trump, and the law is on its side, that's a terrible signal that resistance is futile," he concluded pessimistically in an article for the political news website The Hill .

For now, the panic in the legal profession will continue. Despite Judge Howell’s ruling against Trump, the president is determined to take on more law firms in the near future. “There’s more to come!” he beamed.





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