The Department of Justice decided to abandon President Donald Trump’s revenge tour against law firms he perceived as political enemies—then changed its mind again one day later.
The embattled agency made its second about-face in a Tuesday court filing, indicating that it will continue to pursue Trump’s sanctions on four white-shoe law firms after all.
Just hours earlier, on Monday night, The Wall Street Journal reported that the Justice Department was dropping its appeals of four trial-court rulings that shot down Trump’s executive orders against Jenner & Block, WilmerHale, Perkins Coie, and Susman Godfrey.
In the Tuesday filing, the four firms said they opposed the government’s “unexplained about-face.”
“Hours after asking the court to dismiss its appeal, the Department of Justice has abruptly reversed course and moved to continue its defense of the unconstitutional executive orders,” Perkins Coie said in a separate statement. “It offered no explanation to either the parties or the court for its reversal. We remain committed to defending our firm, our people, and our clients.”
The White House referred the Daily Beast to the Justice Department, which declined to comment beyond the filing.
Just months after he returned to the White House last year, Trump issued a flurry of executive orders targeting law firms linked to Democrats and cases against him. Covington & Burling, for example, represented former special counsel Jack Smith in his personal capacity. It was one of several firms whose security clearances were revoked and access to federal buildings limited under the president’s orders.
The DOJ’s Monday decision to abandon its pursuit of the four law firms was hailed as a victory by the legal community.
“The Trump administration finally admits what everyone knew on Day 1: There is no way to defend these unconstitutional executive orders,” Brian Hauss, a deputy director at the ACLU, said in a statement. “This shameful assault on the rule of law has failed, thanks to the brave lawyers who refused to compromise their integrity.”
Jenner & Block also said the DOJ’s decision solidifies the rulings of four federal judges that Trump’s executive orders were “unconstitutional.” Susman Godfrey said “the government has capitulated, which is a fitting end to its plainly unconstitutional attack on Susman Godfrey and the rule of law.”
But not all firms put up a fight. About half a dozen firms, including Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, opted to settle by agreeing to provide $40 million in pro bono work to initiatives approved by the White House.
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