[#Trump’s] #ExecutiveOrders against #PerkinsCoie & other law firms were illegal not just because they violate constitutional rights, but because they offend the #Constitution’s structure: the orders are “ultra vires, because they were based on no valid #NationalSecurity concern, issued w/o any colorable legal authority, & unconstitutionally interfere with the #SeparationOfPowers.”
In an amicus brief filed on Apr. 8, 2025 in #PerkinsCoie v. #DOJ, 27 former senior government officials of both political parties, who served in the last 7 presidential admins, confirmed that they “have never before seen or condoned an ad hominem punitive, & retaliatory order of this kind, attacking & intimidating lawyers & a law firm on the basis of their lawful activities.”
#law #Trump #Constitution #SeparationOfPowers #AbuseOfPower
https://www.justsecurity.org/110109/president-cannot-issue-attainder-bills/
Updates on #LawFirms targeted by #Trump:
#WilmerHale [employed Robert Mueller] — Judge Leon, a George W. Bush appointee, set a 4:30 PM hearing
#JennerBlock [employed Andrew Weissmann] — Judge Bates, another a George W. Bush appointee, set a 5:45PM hearing
Last Fri, #PerkinsCoie [worked for Hillary Clinton] got a TRO while the case moves forward.
#PaulWeiss, cut a deal w/Trump last month, promising $40M in pro bono legal services & to hire an outside consultant to review employment practices.
The Chief of Staff for #PamBondi, the United States Attorney General, posted this attack on influential conservative legal mind #MikeLutig.
For those who don’t know, #Trump issued an EO targeting the law firm #PerkinsCoie. The firm’s attys are barred from entering federal buildings (federal courts are federal buildings) & removed their security clearances. Michael Sussman, a fmr Perkins Coie atty was involved in Trump’s first impeachment.
"This is nothing less than government compelled speech – a textbook #FirstAmendment violation. The #government is explicitly forcing a private entity to dedicate resources to supporting specific #political initiatives. That a major #law firm would accept such an obviously #unconstitutional demand, rather than challenge it as #PerkinsCoie did, represents a complete abdication of their professional responsibilities"
https://www.techdirt.com/2025/03/21/paul-weisss-shameful-surrender-makes-every-lawyer-there-complicit-in-trumpian-constitutional-desecration/
