Raskin, Blumenthal & Schiff Demand Answers From Big Law Firm Coerced Into Doing Trump's Bidding, Raise Ethics Concerns After Firm Advised Client In Transaction With Commerce Department
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – Today, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee; U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Ranking Member of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations; and U.S. Senator Adam Schiff (D-CA), member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, pressed Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP (Skadden) for answers after a newly unsealed complaint revealed that Skadden advised Intel Corporation in a transaction with the Department of Commerce (DOC)—enabling the Administration to snap up a 10 percent equity stake in Intel—at the same time Skadden reportedly provided legal counsel to DOC on other matters.
“We previously sought to understand why Skadden promised $100 million in pro bono legal services to causes hand-picked by President Trump. We are especially troubled by reports that your firm has provided legal counsel to DOC regarding the Trump Administration’s efforts to leverage unlawful tariffs into foreign trade agreements. Such legal work raises a host of obvious potential issues, including potential violation of the Antideficiency Act, 31 U.S.C. §1342,’” the lawmakers wrote in a letter to Jermey London, executive partner at Skadden.
The lawmakers continued, “The response from your counsel to our last letter did not deny that Skadden has undertaken free legal work for a government agency. Instead, the firm’s response simply asserted, without any further explanation, that you ‘do [not agree]’ that any potential representations ‘would be contrary to’ Skadden’s agreement with the Trump Administration or would constitute ‘violations of any statutes, regulations, or ethical standards.’”
Citing a recently unsealed shareholder complaint against Intel over its deal to provide the DOC with an $11 billion ownership stake, the lawmakers continued, “Recent allegations by shareholders of your client, Intel, refute this claim and renew our concerns about the President’s coercion of Skadden and other law firms…Skadden advised Intel on this transaction—a representation that, the complaint correctly notes, presents a host of conflicts given Skadden’s agreement with the Trump Administration.”
The lawmakers concluded, seeking records and information related to Skadden’s agreement with the Trump Administration, “This information is crucial to our work conducting oversight of the Trump Administration’s outrageous and unprecedented efforts to coerce major law firms and some of the law firms’ willingness to enter into unlawful agreements to provide pro bono work to the Administration. Our inquiry will inform potential legislative reforms of laws and regulations governing the ethical requirements of federal public officials, agencies’ engagement of outside counsel, the regulation of attorneys and interstate law firms, the Antideficiency Act, and the scope of bribery laws governing pseudo-public and private deals with an Administration.”
Blumenthal, Raskin, and Schiff had previously written to Skadden and other firms who cut deals with the Trump Administration, including Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP and Kirland & Ellis, LLP, following reports that the firms are providing free legal services on “a range of matters” to the U.S. Department of Commerce. Blumenthal and Raskin have also demanded each of the firms provide details about the deals struck with President Trump, including a detailed description of all requests for pro bono services the firms received from the White House.
The full text of today’s letter is available here.