Press Releases

Washington, D.C. (April 7, 2025)— Today, Rep. Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Ranking Member of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, are pressing the White House and six top law firms for answers about deals struck with the Trump Administration to avoid executive orders targeting firms for representing clients and hiring lawyers President Trump dislikes. In letters sent yesterday to White House Counsel David Warrington; Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP (Paul, Weiss); Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP (Skadden Arps); Sullivan & Cromwell LLP (S&C); Kirkland & Ellis LLP (Kirkland); Milbank LLP; and Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP (Willkie) Blumenthal and Raskin called on the White House and each firm to preserve all records pertaining to President Trump’s executive orders.

In their letter to the White House, Raskin and Blumenthal wrote, “Over the past few weeks, in five executive orders targeting and punishing specific law firms, President Trump took aim at these firms for representing clients and advocating for causes that he abhors. He has attempted to punish the firms by revoking their attorneys’ security clearances, preventing them from entering any federal buildings, and even seeking to terminate any government contracts they have and preventing them from future government employment. The retaliatory nature of these executive orders has not been even tacitly disguised—each of the five orders detailed his personal grievances which led to its issuance.”

In a letter to Paul, Weiss Chairman Brad S. Karp, Raskin and Blumenthal wrote, “The March 14, 2025 Executive Order aimed at Paul, Weiss is part of a broader effort by President Trump to use the powers of the presidency to intimidate and silence his perceived enemies. The Courts that have considered these vendetta orders to date have universally ruled against them and noted that they violate the First Amendment right to free speech as they are plainly ‘retaliatory action’ meant to ‘chill[] speech and legal advocacy,’  and that they violate the right to counsel guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment and the Sixth Amendment by banning the targeted firms’ lawyers from federal buildings and terminating their clients’ government contracts.” 

Raskin and Blumenthal continued, “Beyond their specific constitutional infirmities, these executive orders are an open attack on the rule of law, which guarantees the equality of all citizens before the law and prevents the vindictive and arbitrary abuse of government power.  These executive orders seek to impose harsh penalties on lawyers for the causes and clients they represent.  This express form of viewpoint discrimination—a classic violation of First Amendment rights—runs counter to American values that have been the bedrock of our democracy and the legal profession since the founding era, when lawyer and later President John Adams defended British soldiers accused of participating in the Boston Massacre.”

The full text of Raskin and Blumenthal’s letter to the White House is available here. Letters sent to Paul, Weiss, Skadden Arps, S&C, Kirkland, Milbank, and Willkie are available here.