Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Representative Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Ranking Member of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, are pressing five top law firms for answers regarding their capitulation to President Donald Trump through deals made with him in order to avoid executive orders targeting firms for representing clients and hiring lawyers President Trump dislikes. In letters sent to Allen Overy Shearman Sterling US LLP (“A&O Shearman”); Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP (Cadwalader); Latham & Watkins LLP (“Latham”); Simpson Thatcher & Bartlet LLP (“Simpson Thacher”); and Kirkland & Ellis LLP (Kirkland), Blumenthal and Raskin demand information and records from the law firms pertaining to President Trump’s executive orders. This letter comes after a previous letter from Blumenthal and Raskin to six law firms striking deals with President Trump.

“The President’s executive orders targeting law firms are part of a broader effort by President Trump to use the powers of the presidency to intimidate and silence his perceived enemies. 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,” wrote Raskin and Blumenthal. “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 same basic principles of fairness and the best defense for all are still cherished by the legal profession and constitutional patriots today.”

Raskin and Blumenthal continued, “Your agreement makes you complicit in efforts to undermine the rule of law and to turn private attorneys into President Trump’s personal law firm, ready to do whatever he decides. If every law firm targeted by the President were to accede to his unlawful demands, the resulting threat to Americans’ constitutional protections would erode our democratic values and cherished civil liberties, as well as cost the legal profession dearly and for many years to come. The American people and Congress deserve transparency with respect to the President’s ongoing assault on constitutional rights and the rule of law.”

The full text of the letter sent to Cadwalader is available here and below. Similar letters were sent to A&O Shearman, Latham & Watkins, Simpson Thatcher, and Kirkland & Ellis.