{"id":1542487,"date":"2025-06-18T21:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-19T01:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/?p=1542487"},"modified":"2025-06-18T21:00:00","modified_gmt":"2025-06-19T01:00:00","slug":"american-bar-association-sues-trump-admin-over-alleged-campaign-to-intimidate-law-firms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/american-bar-association-sues-trump-admin-over-alleged-campaign-to-intimidate-law-firms\/1542487\/","title":{"rendered":"American Bar Association Sues Trump Admin Over Alleged Campaign To Intimidate Law Firms"},"content":{"rendered":"

American Bar Association Sues Trump Admin Over Alleged Campaign To Intimidate Law Firms<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Authored by Tom Ozimek via The Epoch Times<\/a> (emphasis ours),<\/em><\/p>\n

The American Bar Association (ABA) has filed a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration, <\/strong>alleging that the White House and dozens of federal agencies are orchestrating an unconstitutional campaign of \u201cblizzard proportions\u201d to intimidate lawyers and law firms.<\/p>\n

The Contemplation of Justice statue at the Supreme Court building in Washington on May 19, 2025. Madalina Vasiliu\/The Epoch Times<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

The lawsuit<\/a>, filed on June 16 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, alleges that the Trump administration has adopted a \u201cLaw Firm Intimidation Policy\u201d that violates First Amendment protections<\/strong> for free speech and association, viewpoint discrimination, the right to petition the government, and the separation of powers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the time to stand up, speak out and seek relief from our courts,\u201d ABA President William Bay said in a statement. \u201cThere has never been a more urgent time for the ABA to defend its members, our profession and the rule of law itself.\u201d<\/p>\n

The suit, which seeks to block enforcement of the alleged policy, names the Executive Office of the President, more than two dozen federal departments and agencies, and their top officials. The United States is also named as a defendant in a bid to ensure that any relief would apply governmentwide, including any federal agencies not specifically listed as defendants.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Since taking office, President Donald Trump has issued a number of executive actions targeting major law firms, including moves like revoking<\/a> security clearances at Perkins Coie or canceling<\/a> federal contracts with Susman Godfrey, arguing these are necessary to prevent abuses of the legal system and federal courts.<\/p>\n

\u201cPresident Trump believes that lawyers and law firms must be held accountable when they engage in illegal or unethical conduct, especially when their misconduct threatens our national security, homeland security, public safety, or election integrity,\u201d states a White House fact sheet<\/a> detailing the rationale behind some of Trump\u2019s actions with respect to law firms.<\/p>\n

One example of \u201cegregious conduct\u201d raised in the fact sheet is the involvement of a former Perkins Coie attorney in \u201ccreating a false \u2018dossier\u2019 to interfere with the 2016 presidential election,\u201d<\/strong> describing such behavior as \u201ctoo common in the legal profession.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2016, while representing then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Perkins Coie played a role in commissioning the Steele dossier, which made now-discredited claims that Trump had colluded with Russia to influence the outcome of the presidential election.<\/p>\n

The White House fact sheet also alleged that some law firms undermined immigration enforcement by coaching clients to lie about their past or their circumstances when applying for asylum.<\/p>\n

However, the ABA\u2019s complaint alleges that Trump\u2019s actions are based not on substantive factors related to national security or election integrity but because these law firms have represented clients or policy positions he opposes.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe President\u2019s attacks on law firms through the Law Firm Orders are thus not isolated events, but one component of a broader, deliberate policy designed to intimidate and coerce law firms and lawyers to refrain from challenging the President or his Administration in court, or from even speaking publicly in support of policies or causes that the President does not like,\u201d the 93-page filing states.<\/p>\n

The ABA argues that the Trump administration\u2019s measures against the law firms\u2014including suspending security clearances, blacklisting firm employees for government jobs, and restricting access to federal buildings\u2014aim not only to punish but to deter legal representation that challenges the administration, creating a chilling effect across the legal profession.<\/p>\n

The complaint describes how several prominent firms\u2014including Perkins Coie, Paul Weiss, and others\u2014were singled out in public remarks and official directives. Some orders were later rescinded after firms agreed to provide pro bono legal services aligned with administration priorities or modify their client selection and attorney hiring policies to align with the president\u2019s agenda, the suit claims.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In one case cited in the lawsuit, Trump agreed<\/a> to drop his executive order<\/a> targeting Paul Weiss after the law firm pledged to drop diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies\u2014including in hiring\u2014and pledged to provide $40 million in free legal services to support some of the administration\u2019s initiatives. A number of law firms\u2014including Milbank<\/a>, Latham & Watkins<\/a>, and Willkie Farr & Gallagher<\/a>\u2014have entered into similar settlements, each involving a promise to drop DEI and offer pro bono work.<\/p>\n

Some other law firms\u2014such as Perkins Coie<\/a>, Jenner & Block<\/a>, and Susman Godfrey<\/a>\u2014sued the Trump administration after being named in executive actions. In those cases, federal courts struck down some or all of the executive orders involved.<\/p>\n

The ABA said the policies continue despite those rulings.<\/p>\n

\u201cNews reports and studies already show that most top firms are lying low, trying to avoid being hit with similar executive orders,<\/strong>\u201d the complaint states.<\/p>\n

In response to the lawsuit, White House spokesperson Harrison Fields told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement that it views the suit as frivolous and the president\u2019s authority to pick which law firms get government contracts or security clearances as legitimate and lawful.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe American Bar Association\u2019s lawsuit is clearly frivolous,\u201c Fields said. \u201dThe President has always had discretion over which contracts the government enters into and who receives security clearances. His exercise of these core executive functions cannot be dictated by the ABA, a private organization, or the courts. The Administration looks forward to ultimate victory on this issue.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Tyler Durden<\/a><\/span>
\nWed, 06\/18\/2025 – 17:00<\/span><\/p>\n

\u200bhttps:\/\/www.zerohedge.com\/political\/american-bar-association-sues-trump-admin-over-alleged-campaign-intimidate-law-firms<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

American Bar Association Sues Trump Admin Over Alleged Campaign To Intimidate Law Firms Authored by Tom Ozimek via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), The American…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":1542488,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1542487","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","wpcat-1-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1542487","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1542487"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1542487\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1542488"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1542487"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1542487"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1542487"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}