Latest news with #CongressionalDemocrats
New York Post
14 hours ago
- Politics
- New York Post
Jeffries, Hochul rage at Trump after Nadler's aide nabbed by DHS agents: ‘Clearly trying to intimidate'
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries accused the Trump administration of 'clearly trying to intimidate Democrats' after federal agents handcuffed one of Rep. Jerry Nadler's aides in his Manhattan office. The Department of Homeland Security stormed into Nadler's (D-NY) Big Apple office last week and alleged that his staff was 'harboring rioters.' Jeffries (D-NY) largely refrained from delving too much into the specifics of the altercation, but slammed the administration. 'I think the administration is clearly trying to intimidate Democrats, in the same way that they're trying to intimidate the country,' Jeffries told CNN's 'State of the Union' on Sunday. Advertisement Jeffries previously dubbed the arresting of Congressional Democrats a 'red line,' but caveated that Dems will decide how to respond 'in a time, place, and manner of our choosing.' 'Let me make clear that the House is a separate and co-equal branch of government, the Congress,' he added earlier in the interview. 'We don't work for Donald Trump. We don't work for the administration.' 5 House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries contended that the Trump administration is trying to intimidate Dems. AP Advertisement 5 The confrontation came after the aide raised concerns about the apprehension of migrants near the immigration court. YouTube/WNYC 'We work for the American people.' New York Gov. Kathy Hochul similarly ripped into the dramatic encounter. 'Unbelievable. Unbelievable, that's my reaction to it,' Hochul told The Post Sunday. Advertisement 5 New York Gov. Kathy Hochul panned the Department of Homeland Security's actions last week. Don Pollard Nadler has publicly decried the altercation at his lower Manhattan office that transpired last Wednesday and faulted the Trump administration for 'sowing chaos in our communities.' The aide had been briefly detained by the feds after observing agents nabbing migrants in the hallways. Nadler's Manhattan office is in the same building as an immigration courtroom. Video of the wild confrontation swirled online Saturday. The Department of Homeland Security had claimed that 'one individual became verbally confrontational and physically blocked access to the office,' which led to the brief detention of Nadler's aide. Advertisement 5 Video showed an agent briefly handcuffing one of Rep. Jerry Nadler's aides. YouTube/WNYC Nadler's chief of staff, Robert Gottheim, ripped into DHS' characterization of events, suggesting that the agents seemed agitated after potential wrongdoing was called out, the New York Times reported. Democrats have had similar high-profile run-ins with law enforcement over recent weeks. Last month, the feds slapped a criminal complaint against Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-NJ) for assault following a skirmish with agents at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center. McIver had allegedly been trying to prevent the arrest of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka at that facility. 5 Rep. Jerry Nadler's aide was briefly detained by the feds last week in a confrontation caught on camera. REUTERS 'We have publicly responded in a variety of different ways,' Jeffries told 'State of the Union' regarding such instances broadly. 'We haven't let our foot off the gas pedal.' Advertisement 'Donald Trump has learned an important lesson,' he later added. 'The American people aren't interested in bending the knee to a wannabe king. It's the reason why Donald Trump actually is the most unpopular president at this point of a presidency in American history.' Additional reporting by Steve Vago.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
If Trump keeps threatening our judges, we'll lose our rule of law
In recent weeks, President Trump has called various federal judges "monsters who want our country to go to hell,' "EVIL,' "lunatics,' "CORRUPT,' "crooked,' "unfair disaster[s],' and "disgraceful.' Down Pennsylvania Avenue, in the halls of Congress, Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN) recently put up Western-style "wanted posters' of various federal court judges. High-profile political actors from Elon Musk to Representative Marjorie Taylor Green to Arizona's own Representative Eli Crane have recently called for the impeachment of judges. All told, such words have unsurprisingly led to increased unpleasantness for federal judges – death threats to Judge Amir Ali, bomb threats to the sister of Justice Amy Coney Barrett, suspicious deliveries to Judges Paul Engelmayer and Jeanette Vargas, etc. The U.S. Marshals Service reported 224 investigated threats to federal judges in 2021. That number grew to 457 in 2023. And 2025 is on pace for a new record. U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts recently made a rare public rebuke of attacks on the federal judiciary: "For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision. The normal appellate review process exists for that purpose.' So too did Justice Kentanji Brown Jackson ("relentless attacks … undermining our Constitution and the rule of law.') Last week, Congressional Democrats introduced a bill to transfer control of the U.S. Marshals – the men and women who provide security for the courts – from the executive branch to the federal judiciary. The authors of the bill fear that without the legislative change, judges will fear for their safety if they rule against President Trump. All of this is unfortunate. And while it might be worse than ever, none of this is new. We know that in Arizona. I clearly remember the left's hostile reaction when the Arizona Supreme Court ruled against the "Invest in Ed' initiative in 2018. Some critics challenged the merits of the legal opinion. That's fine. It's even healthy. Others chose a different route. They questioned the ethics of the judges. Or their patriotism. Or their commitment to democracy. Similar charges were made following the Arizona Supreme Court's ruling that reinstated Arizona's 1864 abortion ban. Activists focused on Justices Clint Bolick and Kathryn King, saying they were "unfit to serve' or that they were "abusing their positions for years to serve a political agenda.' Former state legislator Athena Salman called into question the whole judicial process: "[This] corrupt Court completely disregards our rights.' Nevermind that judges were being asked to make a specific legal determination on what the laws, as written, required. They weren't being asked for their opinion on what the law should be, or whether or not it was absurd to return to Arizona's territorial law. I once proudly thought the political right was largely immune from such nonsensical actions. But then Abe Hamadeh and Kari Lake came on the scene. Following their various losses, they blamed anyone possible. And that included the judiciary. Hamadeh, now a Congressman, once wrote derogatorily of the political left that, "In their attempt to further destroy the rule of law, Democrats are going after judges who stand in their way.' But his tune changed following his winless record in state trial courts, appellate courts, and the Arizona Supreme Court: "[Judicial] corruption must be rooted out completely.' "Marxist radical Democrat judges are destroying America while Republican judges are surrendering.' "I wish our judges loved the rule of law more than they hate me.' Never once did Hamadeh consider that he was simply wrong on the law and the facts. Instead it was the moral character of every single judge who ruled on his cases. He got so convinced of his own victimhood and judicial corruption that he took to the airwaves on the James T. Harris Show to call for the removal of Ducey-appointed Justice Clint Bolick. As for Kari Lake, after each legal loss – and there are lots of them – she takes to social media to boldly state that she only lost because of 'corruption,' 'cowardice,' 'cabals,' or 'compromised' judges. She even accused one judge of unlawfully handing over his judicial responsibilities to liberal attorney Marc Elias – a 'ghostwritten' legal decision. I witnessed first hand the effects of such comments. In May 2023, I sat in the courtroom of one Lake case when my team found a social media message from a Lake supporter threatening the judge in the case. We showed it to the court. The court paused the case until additional security could be provided. This needs to stop. The judiciary's role is to make decisions on facts and law. Inevitably, some litigants win, and some lose. That's true even in emotionally fraught cases. It's true in political cases. And sometimes, even if the public is overwhelmingly on one side, that side might lose because the facts and law don't support that side. That's how the law works. And we are a country of law. The losing party must respect this process. You can of course disagree with a court's ruling. You can write or speak about how they got the law wrong. You can appeal. But comments to the effect of 'corruption,' should be reserved for situations in which there is, in fact, corruption – e.g. if a judge takes a monetary bribe to rule a certain way. Similarly, calls for impeachment or the removal of the judge shouldn't be made simply because you dislike a ruling. They should be limited to obviously deficient or illegal conduct. If the path we're currently on continues, and if politicians like President Trump continue threatening our judiciary, then it's trouble for the future independence of the judiciary. Judges won't be able to fairly evaluate facts and law if they fear that a ruling that aggravates one party may lead to the judge's physical harm or removal from the position. That's extortion. And who would even want to be a judge in such a setting? Only the corrupt. As Arizona Justice Clint Bolick wrote in these pages, "it's game over if judges look over their shoulders.' Stephen Richer is a former Maricopa County recorder. He is now a senior fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government's Ash Center, an adjunct scholar at the Cato Institute, and CEO of Republic Affairs. Follow him on X: @stephen_richer. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Trump's attacks on judges threaten US rule of law | Opinion
The Hill
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Hill
New data underscores headwinds for Democrats
Thank you for signing up! Subscribe to more newsletters here NEW POLLING DATA and 2024 election analyses underscore the difficulties the Democratic Party faces as it seeks a new identity during President Trump's second term in office. The numbers are stark: • A new survey from The Economist/YouGov finds Democrats trailing Republicans by 10 points in net favorability. Republicans post a negative 11 percent net favorability rating (41 percent positive to 52 percent negative), while Democrats have a negative 21 percent net rating (36/57). It's worse for Congressional Democrats, who are 24 points underwater and trailing Congressional Republicans by 14 points. • The New York Times ran an analysis of the past three presidential elections by county and found a broad rightward shift. Trump increased his ballot share in 1,433 counties, which make up more than 46 percent of the nation's more than 3,100 counties. The Democrats only accomplished this in 57 counties, or less than 2 percent. • Concerns about President Biden's health and the efforts of those around him to conceal his decline has led to a trust deficit. On the question of who has been more transparent about their health, Trump leads Biden by double-digits in an Economist/YouGov poll. Those concerns have dominated Democratic discourse since the release of the book 'Original Sin,' which details how Biden's closest advisers orchestrated his presidency to shield him from scrutiny before he dropped out of the presidential race. • A recent report from the Democratic data firm Catalist found the party suffering a 9-point drop among young men between the 2020 and 2024 elections, punctuated by a substantial drop among racial minorities. DEMS GRAPPLE WITH PAST FAILURES Those data points have led to some reflection among the party's potential new leaders. Longtime Democratic political operative Rahm Emanuel, who is considering running for president in 2028, described the Democratic brand as 'toxic' and 'weak and woke' in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. 'I'm tired of sitting in the back seat when somebody's gunning it at 90 miles an hour for a cliff,' Emanuel said. 'If you want the country to give you the keys to the car, somebody's got to be articulating an agenda that's fighting for America, not just fighting Trump.' Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), who has at times criticized the party, disagreed with Emanuel's assessment. 'No, Democrats are not woke and weak,' he posted on X. 'We are a great party and should be proud of that. We industrialized America and delivered Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. We have a concrete vision of a new economic patriotism to build in America again and deliver 21st-century economic independence and security for every American community and family.' Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, another potential 2028 contender, was asked in an interview with The Bulwark what the party should have done differently in the run up to 2024. He said Democrats should have fought to reopen schools sooner during the pandemic; cracked down on illegal immigration; and been more attuned to voter concerns about inflation. Money wasn't an issue for Democrats, who outraised and outspent Trump in 2024. The Hill's Amie Parnes reports that Democrats are grappling with the fact that their problems run deeper than money. 'You can't spend your way out of the type of political challenge that we're in right now,' said Democratic strategist Joel Payne. 'It's going to take more than spending and trying to overwhelm the other side with your bank account.' Recently, the party has been gripped by debate over how they ignored Biden's decline, when polls showed it was among the top concerns for voters. In a new op-ed, former Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.), who was ostracized for his lonely primary challenge against Biden, says he urged Govs. JB Prtizker (D-Ill.) and Gretchen Whitmer (D-Mich.) to launch their own primary challenges before he got in himself. The issue has ignited debate around the need for a new generation of leaders, particularly after three House Democratic lawmakers died in office this year, making it easier for Republicans to pass Trump's agenda. Parnes writes: 'The party has been grappling with generational tensions for years in the House, where former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), 85, retained her grip on power for two decades; in the Senate, where Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), 74, has led the party for almost a decade; and in the Supreme Court, where former Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death in 2020 at age 87 raised questions about whether she should have retired sooner to allow former President Obama to fill the vacancy.' 💡Perspectives: • Notes From The Middleground: Democrats are in serious trouble. • Dean Phillips: I warned my party about Biden's health. Will they listen now? • The Liberal Patriot: The psychology of the Dems' decline. • The Hill: Democrats are begging for change — will their party ever listen? • The Hill: Reports of the Democratic Party's demise have been greatly exaggerated. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar was killed in an airstrike in Gaza. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced a new visa restriction policy targeting foreign nationals who are deemed 'responsible for censorship of protected expression' in the U.S. The Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., will reopen at noon Thursday for the first time since two Israeli Embassy workers were murdered there. © Samuel Corum, Getty Images The Trump administration will send Congress a package to claw back $9.4 billion in funding next week, with Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) pledging to 'act quickly' to codify Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) cuts into law. Among the items on the chopping block: Funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting — which funds NPR and PBS — and USAID. Elon Musk on Tuesday vented frustration with Congressional Republicans over the spending figures in President Trump's 'big, beautiful bill,' saying it 'undermines' the work he's done at DOGE. 'I was, like, disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit… and it undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing,' he said in a preview of an interview set to air this weekend on 'CBS Sunday Morning.' Musk is not alone in that view. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) blasted Congressional Republicans, saying they failed to enact the spending cuts Musk sought through his work at DOGE. 'You know Elon Musk went into this DOGE effort, he was getting lampooned, they're firebombing his Tesla dealerships, media smearing him relentlessly, his businesses suffer…because he basically said, look, we can't keep doing this,' DeSantis said in a Tuesday speech. 'We need to reduce the amount of money the federal government is spending and yet we have a Republican Congress…and not once cent in DOGE cuts have been implemented by the Congress.' That argument could bolster fiscal hawks, who view Trump's agenda bill as a 'debt bomb.' Trump on Wednesday declined to directly respond to Musk's criticism of the taxes and spending bill, which faces a precarious path through the Senate. At least two Republican senators have said they won't support the legislation because it raises the debt ceiling and fails to rein in spending. 'We need to get a lot of support and we have a lot of support,' Trump said. 'We had to get it through the House, the House was, we had no Democrats. You know, if it was up to the Democrats, they'll take the 65 percent increase.' Musk has recently stepped back from his government work to focus on running Tesla, which hit choppy waters amid Musk's polarizing foray into politics. 'DOGE is just becoming the whipping boy for everything,' Musk said in an interview with The Washington Post. 'Something bad would happen anywhere, and we would get blamed for it even if we had nothing to do with it.' 💡Perspectives: • The Free Press: Trump family business deals test ethical boundaries. • Washington Monthly: The GOP's waste, fraud and abuse lie. • The Hill: Trump is breaking the global order, but maybe that's a good thing. • The Hill: Trump's sneaky plan to govern by gaming the courts. • The Atlantic: Trump's tirades aren't swaying Putin. Read more: • European companies cut costs, scale back investments in China. • Medvedev offers Trump WWIII warning after Putin comments. • Judge strikes down Trump order against WilmerHale. • Trump's military parade doubles as a birthday party. • Trump: Government would retain Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac guarantees amid push to take public. Vice President Vance delivered the keynote address at the Bitcoin 2025 Conference in Las Vegas on Wednesday in the Trump administration's latest overture to the crypto community. Vance encouraged the crypto industry to expand its involvement in politics, after the industry spent more than $200 million to boost crypto-friendly candidates in the 2024 election. 'Part of the reason that I'm standing here, part of the reason that Bernie Moreno defeated Sherrod Brown in the Senate campaign last year, is because you guys got organized and got involved in American politics,' Vance said, referring to candidates in his home state of Ohio. Eric Trump and Donald Trump, Jr. will address the conference later today, as they seek to promote the family's new bitcoin ventures. The Trump Media & Technology Group plans to raise $2.5 billion to invest in bitcoin. Last week, Trump stirred an ethics controversy by holding a private dinner for more than 200 individuals who invested enormous sums in a $TRUMP cryptocurrency. On Wednesday, the Labor Department announced it would roll back a Biden-era policy to discourage crypto investments in 401(k) accounts. MORE ADMINISTRATION NEWS… • Trump is on a pardoning spree, issuing a full pardon Wednesday to former Rep. Michael Grimm (R-N.Y.), who was convicted of tax fraud in 2014. Grimm was released from prison in 2015. In 2024, he was paralyzed in a horse-riding accident. Reality TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley also received pardons. The stars of 'Chrisley Knows Best' were convicted on bank fraud and tax evasion charges. Julie Chrisley was sentenced to seven years in prison, and Todd Chrisley was sentenced to 12 years behind bars. The Chrisleys say they were victims of overzealous prosecutors that used unethical tactics to secure their convictions. Here are three things to know about the Chrisley pardon. Marc Short, who was chief of staff to former Vice President Mike Pence, described the Trump administration's approach to pardons as 'pretty gross' in an interview with CNN. This week, Trump also pardoned Paul Walczak, who had pleaded guilty to tax crimes. The pardon came only weeks after Walczak's mother attended a Mar-a-Lago fundraising dinner where tickets cost $1 million. Trump said Wednesday he'd take a look at whether to issue pardons for those convicted in the 2020 failed plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D), saying 'it looked to me like somewhat of a railroad job.' © Mark Schiefelbein, Associated Press A round-up from the states, where the culture wars are running hot… • California will allow more girls to participate in this weekend's state track-and-field championships amid controversy over a trans athlete who qualified to compete in the finals. The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) said more 'biological female' athletes would be allowed to compete after President Trump threatened to pull government funding from California for defying his executive order eliminating 'male competitive participation in women's sports.' California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) praised CIF's changes, calling it 'a reasonable, respectful way to navigate a complex issue without compromising competitive fairness.' Trump said he'll be speaking to Newsom about the issue this week. The Justice Department said Wednesday it will investigate whether a California law violates federal laws against sex discrimination by allowing transgender student-athletes to participate in sports consistent with their gender identity. Elsewhere, the Trump administration has zeroed in on the University of California (UC) as its next campus target, amid the ongoing legal and funding battles with Harvard University. Leo Terrell, senior counsel at the Department of Justice, said on Fox News's 'The Faulkner Focus' that there will be 'massive lawsuits against [the] UC system' and other colleges 'on the East Coast, on the West Coast, in the Midwest.' • The Texas Senate approved a bill strictly defining man and woman and requiring state documents to reflect a person's sex as defined at birth. In the heated Texas GOP Senate primary, state Attorney General Ken Paxton leads Sen. John Cornyn by 9 points in a new poll. The Cornyn campaign launched a new ad accusing Paxton of 'funding the left.' • Abortion is banned in Missouri again after the state's highest court overturned two lower court rulings blocking its abortion ban. • The Trump administration is suing North Carolina and its State Board of Elections for failing to maintain an accurate voter roll. • The Department of Energy ordered a Michigan coal plant to remain open, citing possible electricity shortfalls in the central U.S. • Here's a look at who could replace Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) in the Senate. Tuberville is running for governor. 💡Perspectives: • Vox: Trump figured out how to hit Harvard where it really hurt. • Racket: Who started the culture war? • Peter Navarro: The bond market is missing the real 'big, beautiful' story. • New York: Trump's politics of plunder. • The American Spectator: The wages of COVID. Read more: • San Francisco high schools to begin 'grading for equity'. • Harvard revokes a professor's tenure for the first time in decades. • Trump closes in on cutting government ties with Harvard. Someone forward this newsletter to you? Sign up to get your own copy: See you next time!
New York Post
23-05-2025
- Business
- New York Post
Trump hails ‘pioneers' who shelled out for his cryptocoin — as Dems charge corruption
WASHINGTON — President Trump lavished praise on top buyers of his eponymous cryptocurrency Thursday night at a private gathering at his golf club in northern Virginia — as Democrats in Congress and protesters outside the venue called the 220-person event an example of shameful self-dealing by the commander in chief. 'I really think you're going to end up being very proud of what you did, because you're pioneers, you're here very early. It's very early. It's a very young industry, and you've done very well,' Trump, 78, said in the closed-to-press speech, snippets of which were posted to Instagram by a guest. 'I just want to thank you. I want to congratulate you, and I want to let you know that I'm with you all the way.' The event for top $TRUMP buyers had stoked controversy for weeks, though White House aides insisted that investors were not receiving special treatment from the administration. As part of the gala, the president attended an intimate cocktail reception with a group of 25 big-money buyers of his digital currency — topped by China-born Justin Sun, who invested $1,319,904.266 in 'time weighted $TRUMP holdings,' according to signage at the event reviewed by CNN. In February, the Securities and Exchange Commission paused a civil fraud case against Sun after he publicly touted his purchase of the cryptocurrency, which launched in January. The president reportedly has reaped millions from the Solana blockchain memecoin during its four months in existence. A Trump family company and an associated firm have earned $320.19 million in fees, according to blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis, Reuters reports. Outside Thursday's event, protesters held signs including 'Stop Crypto Corruption' and 'Release the guest list.' Protesters outside Thursday night's event AP Congressional Democrats are likely to investigate Trump's burgeoning crypto empire if they regain power following next year's midterm elections — with the president's business interests, including a series of hotel and resort deals in a trio of Mideast countries he visited last week, forming a potential basis for a third impeachment push against him. 'Donald Trump's dinner is an orgy of corruption,' Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said Thursday. 'The American people have no idea who is buying access to the president, and no idea what they are getting in return.' GUEST LIST Although the guest list was not publicly released, many of the attendees who dined on filet mignon and pan-seared halibut are known because they disclosed their plans to attend or posted on social media while there. Vincent Liu, the chief investment officer of Taiwanese crypto company Kronos Research, told Reuters it was an important networking event for him and that 'that kind of access is rare, and it represents how digital assets are entering the mainstream.' Sheldon Zia, founder of the Cayman Islands crypto exchange BitMart, tweeted photos of the ballroom and some of its guests. New Yorker Vincent Deriu reportedly said he was attending after investing $116,000, while German investor Christoph Heuermann posted footage of Trump's remarks. 'I got to see some very rich crypto billionaires,' he wrote on Instagram 'But the majority of the crowd were young professionals from the crypto space hailing mostly from Europe. A fair share of Chinese and a few Americans, but a great diversity of most European countries. People working mostly for crypto exchanges, funds, market makers or just trading themselves. Very nice networking.' The White House brushed off criticism of the event, while deputy press secretary Anna Kelly telling Reuters: 'President Trump's assets are in a trust managed by his children. There are no conflicts of interest.' Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at her Thursday briefing that Trump, who previously led a real estate and branding empire, had lost money while serving as America's chief executive. 'The president is abiding by all conflict of interest laws that are applicable to the president,' she said. 'It's hard for anyone to insinuate that this president is profiting off of his presidency. This president was incredibly successful before giving it all up to serve our country publicly. And not only has he lost wealth, but he also almost lost his life. 'He has sacrificed a lot to be here and to suggest otherwise is just frankly completely absurd.'
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Big Law firms double down on their Trump deals in letters to Congress
Nine law firms struck deals with President Trump to collectively provide $940 million in pro-bono work. Some Congressional Democrats suggested that the deals were illegal, and asked the firms to disavow them. In letters, most of the firms told Congress that their commitments were legal and ethical. White-shoe law firms that made deals with President Trump are doubling down on their commitments, insisting in letters to Congress that the agreements were legal and ethical. The letters were sent on May 8 in response to public scrutiny from Democrats about whether the deals amounted to illegal bribes. They were signed by representatives from the nine firms that agreed to provide pro-bono work for the president's preferred causes, including de-emphasizing DEI. "Your suggestion that the Firm may have violated federal law, state law, and rules of professional conduct in entering into the agreements is wholly without merit," the law firm Simpson Thacher said in one letter. "The Firm rejects your suggestion that Skadden's compliance with the Agreement reached with the Administration might constitute either legal or ethical violations," an attorney for Skadden wrote. The only firm that didn't explicitly defend the legality of its deal was Latham & Watkins. Chair Richard Trobman said the firm takes its ethical obligations "seriously." Beginning in late March, the nine firms committed $940 million in free legal work to support some of Trump's priorities amid punitive executive orders. The deals led several lawyers at the firms to publicly announce their resignations. Four other firms targeted with orders that threatened their client relationships have since won legal victories. Last month, members of Congress led by Rep. David Min and Rep. April McClain Delaney asked the firms that cut deals to repudiate them, calling them unethical and illegal. Critics of the deals say the vague commitments don't square with the firms' obligations to exercise independent professional judgment and provide legal help for the needy rather than the politically connected. Min told Business Insider he disagreed with the law firms' responses and said he and other Congressional Democrats were considering their next steps. He said the law firms might have violated state laws as well as federal laws, and said investigations and enforcement activities could take place in other jurisdictions — or once Democrats take power. "It's probably incumbent on state and local and federal, should that time arise, authorities to investigate these settlements," Min said. The law firms "can disavow the agreements," he added. "If they don't do that and continue to perform — for example, if they decide to represent January 6 protesters… then I think you have very clearly a circumstance where they violated a number of laws." In a statement, Rep. McClain Delaney called the deals a "real threat to the rule of law and integrity of the judiciary" and questioned how firms that cut deals with the White House could represent clients that "might be seen as antagonistic." Several of the firms also sent letters to Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Rep. Jamie Raskin defending the deals, Reuters previously reported. The nine law firms didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. The White House didn't respond to a request for the original article on Business Insider
