Trump announces $100M deal with law firm tied to Doug Emhoff, Jan. 6 House panel
President Trump on Tuesday announced his administration struck a deal with a law firm with ties to former second gentleman Doug Emhoff and the House panel that investigated the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol as Trump targets major firms for retribution.
The agreement with Willkie Farr & Gallagher states that the firm will provide the equivalent of $100 million in pro bono legal services for causes the administration supports. It is the third such arrangement the White House has reached with a major law firm.
The firm also represented two Georgia election workers who sued Rudy Giuliani for defamation. Giuliani once served as a close Trump confidant as well as a legal adviser during the president's first term.
“Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP proactively reached out to President Trump and his Administration, offering their decisive commitment to ending the Weaponization of the Justice System and the Legal Profession,” the White House said in a statement posted on Trump’s Truth Social account. “The President is delivering on his promises of eradicating Partisan Lawfare in America, and restoring Liberty and Justice FOR ALL.”
Thomas Cerabino and Matthew Feldman, chairmen of Willkie Farr and Gallagher, said in a statement that the firm "remains committed to serving the needs of our clients, our employees, and the communities of which we are a part.”
"The substance of this agreement is consistent with our Firm’s longstanding practices," the two men said in a statement.
In addition to the pro bono services, the agreement stipulates that the law firm will not engage in hiring practices that factor in diversity, equity and inclusion requirements, and that it will not deny representation to clients based on political affiliation.
It is a similar arrangement to ones previously announced by the White House with the law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. The law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison also reached a similar agreement, though that firm agreed to provide $40 million in pro bono work.
Trump has aggressively targeted other major law firms with ties to individuals involved in various investigations into his conduct or with Democratic politics. He has at various points signed orders targeting Perkins Coie, Covington & Burlington, WilmerHale and Jenner & Block.
Parts of Trump’s executive order aimed at the law firm Perkins Coie were temporarily frozen by a federal judge after the firm claimed its past work for Democrats made it a subject of retaliation by the administration.
Jenner & Block and WilmerHale have also filed a lawsuit over the orders.
Zach Schonfeld contributed.
Updated 5:25 p.m.