'Proud': Law firms cheered after latest action to fight Trump
Legal experts applauded two law firms late Tuesday that sought permanent relief after being targeted by President Donald Trump's executive orders.
Trump targeted the law firms Jenner & Block and WilmerHale through executive orders due to their ties to investigations and legal actions that he alleged were politically motivated
Jenner & Block was targeted partly due to its past association with Andrew Weissmann, a former prosecutor in special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Trump's 2016 campaign's ties to Russia. Weissmann worked at the firm before and after his government service.
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Similarly, WilmerHale was targeted due to its ties to Mueller, who was a partner at the firm before spearheading the Russia probe.
Trump accused the firms of weaponizing the legal process to undermine his presidency and support his political opponents. His orders treat the firms as national security risks and would severely hinder the firms' abilities to represent companies with government contracts or that need regulatory approvals. It also bars lawyers from entering federal buildings including courthouses.
While other law firms facing executive orders have cut deals with Trump — and faced a mountain of criticism for doing so — on Tuesday, the two law firms hit back, filing a request to permanently block the Trump administration's executive orders.
Jenner & Block called the executive order “a plain violation of the First Amendment” and said it was retaliation for representing clients Trump doesn't like, The New York Times reported. The firm also took a shot at others that took a deal, writing in its court filing that those firms went to Trump on “bended knee" and that the deals “advance not the interests of their own clients, but instead the government’s chosen agenda.”
Wilmerhale, meanwhile, said in its filing that Trump’s order blatantly went after it “for representing his political opponents” and “challenging his immigration-enforcement policies.” The firm said “retaliatory animus and viewpoint discrimination infect every aspect” of the president’s order.
The firms received a verbal pat on the back from legal experts on X.
"Law firms I respect. We will never bow to #TrumpTheButcher," cheered national security attorney Mark S. Zaid, who has also been subjected to retalitation from the Trump administration.
Barb McQuade, a former federal prosecutor, wrote, "