Latest news with #WilmerCutlerPickeringHaleandDorrLLP
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Trump order targeting law firm WilmerHale blocked as 'unconstitutional,' federal judge rules
A federal judge permanently blocked President Donald Trump's executive order targeting the law firm WilmerHale on Tuesday. Trump's order sought to limit the influence of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP by urging federal agencies to suspend security clearances for the firm's employees as well as cancel contracts with the organization. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon found that the order violated the Constituion's First, Fifth and Sixth Amendments, as well as separation of powers. "For the reasons set forth below, I have concluded that this order must be struck down in its entirety as unconstitutional," Leon wrote. "Indeed, to rule otherwise would be unfaithful to the judgment and vision of the Founding Fathers!" Leon argued that Trump's order served as a threat to law firms across the country. Federal Judges In New York And Texas Block Trump Deportations After Scotus Ruling "If you take on causes disfavored by President Trump, you will be punished!" Leon wrote. "Other firms facing similar executive orders have capitulated to President Trump." Read On The Fox News App WilmerHale drew Trump's ire as the home firm of Robert Mueller, who served as special counsel during Trump's first term and investigated alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election. 'Woefully Insufficient': Us Judge Reams Trump Admin For Days-late Deportation Info Federal judges have been a bane to Trump's agenda in the opening months of his return to the White House, foiling or delaying key aspects of his immigration and economic plans. A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily halted the administration's effort to kill New York City's controversial congestion pricing program as well. U.S. District Court Judge Lewis Liman issued a temporary restraining order barring the administration from getting rid of the program and withholding federal funding if the city failed to nix the program. Another federal judge in Massachusetts chastised senior Trump officials Monday night for failing to comply with his court orders after a group of migrants was deported from the U.S. to South Sudan. Appeals Court Blocks Trump Admin's Deportation Flights In Alien Enemies Act Immigration Suit U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy rejected Trump's request to amend or withdraw the judge's earlier decision requiring them to keep in U.S. custody six migrants who were deported to South Sudan without due process or notice. "It turns out that having immigration proceedings on another continent is harder and more logistically cumbersome than defendants anticipated," Murphy said in his order, noting that the Trump administration is free to return individuals to have the interviews carried out on U.S. soil. The salvo comes as Murphy, a federal judge in Boston, presides over a class-action lawsuit from migrants who are challenging deportations to third countries, including South Sudan, El Salvador and other countries, including Costa Rica, Guatemala and others that the administration has reportedly eyed in its ongoing wave of deportations. Fox News' Breanne Deppisch contributed to this reportOriginal article source: Trump order targeting law firm WilmerHale blocked as 'unconstitutional,' federal judge rules
Fox News
28-05-2025
- Business
- Fox News
Trump order targeting law firm WilmerHale blocked as 'unconstitutional,' federal judge rules
A federal judge permanently blocked President Donald Trump's executive order targeting the law firm WilmerHale on Tuesday. Trump's order sought to limit the influence of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP by urging federal agencies to suspend security clearances for the firm's employees as well as cancel contracts with the organization. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon found that the order violated the Constituion's First, Fifth and Sixth Amendments, as well as separation of powers. "For the reasons set forth below, I have concluded that this order must be struck down in its entirety as unconstitutional," Leon wrote. "Indeed, to rule otherwise would be unfaithful to the judgment and vision of the Founding Fathers!" Leon argued that Trump's order served as a threat to law firms across the country. "If you take on causes disfavored by President Trump, you will be punished!" Leon wrote. "Other firms facing similar executive orders have capitulated to President Trump." WilmerHale drew Trump's ire as the home firm of Robert Mueller, who served as special counsel during Trump's first term and investigated alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election. Federal judges have been a bane to Trump's agenda in the opening months of his return to the White House, foiling or delaying key aspects of his immigration and economic plans. A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily halted the administration's effort to kill New York City's controversial congestion pricing program as well. U.S. District Court Judge Lewis Liman issued a temporary restraining order barring the administration from getting rid of the program and withholding federal funding if the city failed to nix the program. Another federal judge in Massachusetts chastised senior Trump officials Monday night for failing to comply with his court orders after a group of migrants was deported from the U.S. to South Sudan. U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy rejected Trump's request to amend or withdraw the judge's earlier decision requiring them to keep in U.S. custody six migrants who were deported to South Sudan without due process or notice. "It turns out that having immigration proceedings on another continent is harder and more logistically cumbersome than defendants anticipated," Murphy said in his order, noting that the Trump administration is free to return individuals to have the interviews carried out on U.S. soil. The salvo comes as Murphy, a federal judge in Boston, presides over a class-action lawsuit from migrants who are challenging deportations to third countries, including South Sudan, El Salvador and other countries, including Costa Rica, Guatemala and others that the administration has reportedly eyed in its ongoing wave of deportations.
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
As the White House's campaign against law firms continues, Trump says a bit too much
While several prominent law firms have tried to appease Donald Trump in response to his aggressive and unprecedented campaign against the industry, a handful have responded to presidential attacks by pushing back. As NBC News reported, those efforts are ongoing. Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP filed a motion [Tuesday] seeking to permanently block Trump's executive order targeting the firm, which previously employed Robert Mueller, who led the Russia investigation after the 2016 election. 'Simply put, blacklisting and sanctioning law firms for representing the President's political opponents, devoting resources to causes the President dislikes, or hiring attorneys who have investigated the President is anathema to our constitutional order,' the filing says. 'The Order avowedly—and severely—punishes WilmerHale for its attorneys' advocacy on behalf of clients and causes the President does not like. And it does so for the avowed purpose of deterring other law firms from engaging in the same constitutionally protected conduct,' it added. Hours after the firm filed its motion, Trump spoke at a White House event related to his efforts to boost the coal industry, and he suggested that he'd direct some of the law firms that have already surrendered to him to work on coal mining–related cases in support of the industry. And then he kept talking. 'Have you noticed that lots of law firms have been signing up with Trump?' the president said, referring to himself in the third person. '$100 million, another $100 million for, uh, damages that they've done. They give you $100 million and then they announce that, 'But we have done nothing wrong.' And I agree, they've done nothing wrong. But what the hell, they give me a lot of money considering they've done nothing wrong.' It's an open question as to whether or not the Republican was sincere, but some of the targeted firms have argued that Trump signed punitive orders to attack them without cause. And now the president has declared, out loud and on camera, that he agreed that the firms did 'nothing wrong.' On Capitol Hill, meanwhile, two Democratic lawmakers — Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, the ranking member on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee's investigations panel, and Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the ranking member on the House Judiciary Committee — launched an investigation this week, contacting firms directly about whether the White House's scheme effectively constitutes extortion. The Democratic lawmakers wrote that the executive orders targeting law firms were 'in blatant violation of the rights guaranteed to all Americans by the First, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments of the United States Constitution' and were 'part of a broader effort by President Trump to use the powers of the presidency to intimidate and silence his perceived enemies.' The executive orders 'have turned into an illegal shakedown of the legal profession,' they wrote. '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,' one of the letters stated. As for the larger industry, more than 500 law firms of various sizes last week signed onto a joint statement of support for Perkins Coie, one of the firms that's fighting back against a Trump order. As for the firms that chose the path of appeasement and capitulation, they're increasingly facing backlashes, including from within their own teams. This article was originally published on
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
White House targets a law firm that Trump believes ‘rewarded' Robert Mueller
About a month ago, the White House took an unprecedented step, punishing a prominent private law firm because Donald Trump disapproved of its clients. The New York Times described the move as 'a breathtaking escalation,' and that description was more than fair. The move, however, was simply an opening salvo. A week later, the Republican nevertheless did it again, targeting a different firm. A third firm was punished soon after, followed by a fourth. (Trump also signed an executive order last week that effectively threatened to punish any law firms that, from his perspective, challenge his administration in ways he considers 'unreasonable.') The list is still growing. NBC News reported: Trump signed an executive order today suspending the security clearances for employees at the law firm Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP which previously employed Robert Mueller, a special counsel who led the Russia investigation after the 2016 presidential election. The president's directive accused the firm of, among other things, engaging in 'obvious partisan representations.' Just as notably, the White House said in a statement that WilmerHale 'rewarded' the former special counsel, whose investigation, in Trump's estimation, 'epitomizes the weaponization of government.' Right off the bat, it's important to emphasize just how utterly bonkers these circumstances are. There is no precedent in the American tradition of a White House punishing a private law firm because it hired a lawyer the sitting president does not like. This is not the sort of thing that is supposed to happen in a healthy and free democratic country. Complicating matters, the idea that Mueller is some kind of super villain is so preposterous that it's unsettling to see the White House put such a claim in writing. Mueller is, after all, a decorated Marine combat veteran, a lifelong Republican and the former director of the FBI. Yes, he also oversaw an investigation into the Russia scandal, but (a) the scandal was real and serious, even if Trump pretends otherwise; (b) Mueller did nothing wrong before, during or after the probe; (c) serving as a special counsel does not mean a lawyer should be blacklisted for life; (d) Mueller was appointed by the Trump administration, which makes it hilarious to see Trump characterize his work as an example of 'weaponization'; and (e) the president has spent the last several years claiming that Mueller cleared him of any wrongdoing in the scandal. To be sure, Trump has obviously lied repeatedly about Mueller's findings, but taken at face value, the president has told the public that the former special counsel 'exonerated' him in the Russia scandal. If that's the case, why punish the firm that employed him? As for the larger context, not every major law firm is responding to the White House's offensive the same way. One has already caved, and another appears prepared to caved preemptively to avoid a presidential attack. That said, one of the targeted firms is challenging a Trump order in court, and another filed a related lawsuit just hours ago that seeks to block enforcement of the president's directive. Trump boasted publicly earlier this week about law firms caving to his demands and giving the White House what it wants, but as things stand, not every firm is bending the knee. This article was originally published on
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump Goes After Law Firm With Ties To Robert Mueller In New Executive Order
President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order targeting a law firm that once employed Robert Mueller, who led the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, adding that his probe 'epitomizes the weaponization of government.' The White House said Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, known as WilmerHale, 'is yet another law firm that has abandoned the profession's highest ideals and abused its pro bono practice to engage in activities that undermine justice and the interests of the United States.' Trump's order takes issues with the firm's decision to hire Mueller and two of his colleagues following their work on the Russian election interference probe. 'Mueller's 'investigation' upended the lives of public servants in my Administration who were summoned before 'prosecutors' with the effect of interfering in their ability to fulfill the mandates of my first term agenda,' Trump said. 'This weaponization of the justice system must not be rewarded, let alone condoned.' Trump's order states that the attorney general, the director of national intelligence and other department heads must revoke the security clearances of any WilmerHale employees 'pending a review of whether such clearances are consistent with the national interest.' The president also restricted their access to federal buildings and ordered the end of all government contracts with the law firm. In response, WilmerHale said it will pursue 'all appropriate remedies to this unlawful order.' 'Our firm has a longstanding tradition of representing a wide range of clients, including in matters against administrations of both parties,' a spokesperson said in a statement shared with multiple outlets. Their statement added that Mueller retired from the firm in 2021, noting his 'long, distinguished career in public service, from his time as a Marine Corps officer in Vietnam to his leadership of the FBI in the aftermath of the September 11th terrorist attacks.' The Wall Street Journal reported that while WilmerHale had tried to convince the administration not to take such action against it, the punishment became inevitable given Trump's disdain for Mueller. Mueller, a former director of the FBI, left WilmerHale in 2017 after being appointed as special counsel to oversee the Russia investigation and returned to the law firm in 2019. The Journal added that a 2019 announcement welcoming Mueller back into the firm has been scrapped from WilmerHale's website. WilmerHale is far from the only elite law firm Trump has set his sights on. Perkins Coie and Covington & Burling have also been among the companies targeted. Most recently, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison struck a controversial deal with Trump to rescind an executive order against the company in exchange for the firm committing to align its diversity policies with the administration and providing $40 million in pro bono services to the 'mutually agreed upon' priorities with the White House. A Prominent Law Firm, The Progressive Fight, And Its Deal With The Devil Prominent Law Firm Escapes Trump's Ire After Folding To His Demands
