Lots of quotes for you since I don’t speak legalese. Not everyone is caving to tRump. Law Firm Susman Godfrey said “Hell NO”, and after Agent Orange’s Executive Order, decided within TWO HOURS to sue the United States Government to block the EO. Well hot DAMN. They are not afraid to fight back! This is much better than law firms Paul Weiss, Skadden, Milbank, Willkie Farr, Cadwalader, Kirkland & Ellis, A&O Shearman, Simpson Thacher, and Latham & Watkins. They just … gave in. Gave in. And now they’ve lost their respectability.
Four firms – Perkins Coie, Jenner & Block, WilmerHale, and Susman Godfrey – are fighting the administration in court. I’m so, so glad that *someone* is not giving in. These four have not lost their respectability in my eyes. Others agreed to give tRump millions of dollars in pro bono assistance for his causes. What are they going to do when he asks for something ridiculous? Go along with it? That’s even worse. I’d have a hard time respecting myself after that. Mike Howell of The Oversight Project sent letters to many law firms asking them to devote $10 million worth of time to help litigate freedom of information lawsuits against agencies in “blue states.” UGH.
So far there is little evidence to show the 4 firms have suffered serious damage for choosing to fight. Let’s hope it stays that way. In each of the four lawsuits, federal judges quickly blocked the most consequential elements from each executive order and signaled they would later rule in favor of the law firms. From Business Insider:
“The judge’s swift order headed off potential damage to Jenner & Block, according to a source familiar with the matter. Forty percent of the firm’s revenue is from companies with government contracts, it said in its lawsuit. While clients were nervous, only one, which it had represented on a pro bono basis, cut ties, the source said.”
ONE client cut ties. Just *one*. Well, how about that? In court, the law firms are winning.
“They have argued that the executive orders violate the Constitution and are textbook examples of the government illegally targeting people and companies over their speech and violating their clients’ right to counsel. The executive orders say the law firms run discriminatory DEI programs and that some of them pose national security threats because they employed lawyers who previously investigated Trump.”
Baloney! Lawyers who investigated are dealing with attempted retribution because they “did” something *against* tRump. See my eyes roll back in my head and come up lemons!
On the docket, meanwhile, the administration is outgunned. Although not much has developed in the Susman Godfrey case yet, a *lot* has happened with Perkins Coie.
In a hearing on April 23, US District Judge Beryl Howell, who is overseeing Perkins Coie’s case, appeared incredulous at the government’s arguments. She subjected Richard Lawson, a Justice Department lawyer, to a barrage of often sarcastic questions about the scope of the executive order, brushing aside some of his positions as “hyper-technical legal arguments that may have no merit.”
H0 H0 H0. Go, Judge, Go! Two other career Justice Department officials previously working on the Perkins Coie case dropped out, one to retire. Hmmm, interesting. It seems *some* people in the Justice Department still have some pride.
The firms suing the government are working with legal heavyweights. I think that implies that they are going to be better than the DOJ hacks. Each lawsuit has also attracted a wide range of amicus briefs — supportive legal arguments — from law professors, former judges, bar associations, press freedom advocates, and others.
“You’re a bit outmanned here,” Judge Loren AliKhan quipped at Richard Lawson of the Justice Department when he showed up alone to a hearing in Susman Godfrey’s case earlier this month. Trump’s executive orders could have revoked each firm’s government contracts and lawyers’ security clearances. They also could have barred firm employees from government buildings, and Judge AliKhan said Trump’s order meant the lawyers would not be able to enter courthouses or post offices.
We finally get to see someone fighting back. They are not intimidated by El Presidente Imbécil. They have morals and standards that say HELL NO to the government’s strong-arm tactics. They will not provide millions of dollars in pro bono work. They show that some people still are not frightened. They are strong! They will not go quietly into the night. I’m sure there’s more to come. Don’t touch that dial. Thanks for sticking with me!
*****And now, please be so kind as to read a very special request from our awesome boss******
Zoomers, if you can spare a donation, it will keep us trekking through cyberspace from planet to planet and psychotic news story to psychotic news story. We just need a little green energy to keep going on our (now) nine-year mission, and who knows how long it will take to get rid of Trump? Thanks. Ursula
