{"id":2575563,"date":"2026-03-03T11:40:02","date_gmt":"2026-03-03T16:40:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/doj-abandons-defense-of-trump-executive-orders-targeting-law-firms\/"},"modified":"2026-03-03T11:42:40","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T16:42:40","slug":"doj-abandons-defense-of-trump-executive-orders-targeting-law-firms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/doj-abandons-defense-of-trump-executive-orders-targeting-law-firms\/","title":{"rendered":"DOJ abandons defense of Trump executive orders targeting law firms"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fdoj-abandons-defense-of-trump-executive-orders-targeting-law-firms%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2575563&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The Justice Department has dropped its defense of President Trump\u2019s executive orders that targeted several <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/is-big-tech-bum-rushing-the-supreme-court-on-censorship\/\" title=\"Is Big Tech Bum Rushing The Supreme Court On Censorship?\">major law firms<\/a>, filing on Monday evening to dismiss appeals after lower courts ruled the measures unconstitutional. The government said it would no longer pursue appeals of rulings striking down orders aimed at Perkins Coie, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr, Susman Godfrey, and Jenner &#038; Block, which federal judges had found violated the First, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments. Reactions from the firms varied: WilmerHale described the decision to drop the appeal as the right move, Susman Godfrey called it capitulation, and jenner &#038; Block said the withdrawal would permanently uphold the rulings and defend clients\u2019 rights without compromise. The targeted orders, issued in March and April of the previous year, were tied to past hires and work connected to Trump\u2019s political and legal battles, including Perkins Coie\u2019s depiction of Hillary Clinton and the Steele dossier, and connections to the Trump-Russia inquiry involving WilmerHale and Jenner &#038; Block. Although the DOJ abandoned the four cases,it secured commitments from nine other firms to provide about $940 million in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/agent-accused-of-scuttling-hunter-biden-probe-out-at-fbi-counsel-confirms\/\" title=\"Agent Accused Of Scuttling Hunter Biden Probe Out At FBI, Counsel Con...\">pro bono services<\/a> to support White House initiatives,a move that provoked internal backlash and some resignations within the legal community. the department continues to defend against more than 600 lawsuits challenging Trump\u2019s second-term agenda, even as it retreats from certain executive-order cases.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Justice Department abandons defense of Trump <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-admin-touts-gas-prices-as-major-2021-accomplishment\/\" title=\"Biden Admin Touts Gas Prices as Major 2021 Accomplishment\">executive orders targeting<\/a> law firms<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2103860\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>The <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/department-of-justice\/\">Justice Department<\/a> on Monday dropped its legal defense of President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\">Donald Trump<\/a>&rsquo;s executive orders targeting several major law firms, moving to dismiss pending appeals voluntarily after lower courts found the measures unconstitutional.<\/p>\n<p>In a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/storage.courtlistener.com\/recap\/gov.uscourts.cadc.42238\/gov.uscourts.cadc.42238.01208826804.0.pdf\">Monday evening filing<\/a> with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, government lawyers said they would no longer pursue appeals of rulings striking down orders aimed at Perkins Coie, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, Susman Godfrey, and Jenner &amp; Block. The decision came after four federal judges blocked the directives, finding they violated the First, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4476823\/biden-judge-blocks-noem-ban-lawmaker-visits-ice\/\">Biden judge blocks Noem from banning lawmaker visits at ICE detention sites<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/national-security\/4476757\/iran-retaliation-threat-us-security\/\">US boosts homeland security posture amid retaliation risks after Iran strikes<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4474612\/doj-indicts-30-minnesota-church-storming-case\/\">DOJ indicts 30 more people in Minnesota church storming case<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The U.S. Department of Justice building is seen in Washington, Dec. 7, 2024. (AP Photo\/Jose Luis Magana, File)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&ldquo;The government&rsquo;s decision to dismiss its appeal is clearly the right one,&rdquo; a spokesperson for WilmerHale said, calling the executive order unlawful and saying the firm&rsquo;s challenge was about defending clients&rsquo; constitutional right to choose their counsel. <\/p>\n<p>Susman Godfrey said the administration had &ldquo;capitulated,&rdquo; describing the episode as an attack on the rule of law. Jenner &amp; Block said the withdrawal &ldquo;makes permanent&rdquo; rulings that the orders were unconstitutional and reaffirmed its commitment to advocating for clients &ldquo;without compromise.&rdquo; The Justice Department declined to comment.<\/p>\n<p>Trump signed the orders in March and April of last year, targeting firms over past hires and legal work tied to his political and legal battles. <\/p>\n<p>Perkins Coie was singled out for its representation of <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/hillary-clinton\/\">Hillary Clinton<\/a>&rsquo;s 2016 campaign and its role in commissioning the Steele dossier, which former <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/barack-obama\/\">Obama administration<\/a> leadership used as the basis to investigate the now-debunked claims that Trump&rsquo;s 2016 campaign colluded with Russia during the 2016 election.<\/p>\n<p>WilmerHale and Jenner &amp; Block had employed lawyers involved in the DOJ&rsquo;s prior Trump-Russia investigation, including <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3788930\/robert-mueller-parkinsons-disease-past-four-years\/\">Robert Mueller<\/a> and one of his top deputies at the time, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/2388390\/top-mueller-prosecutor-was-source-of-negativity-and-mistrust-at-fbi-ex-bureau-lawyer\/\">Andrew Weissmann<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Susman Godfrey represented Dominion Voting Systems in the defamation case it filed against Fox News after Trump cast doubts about the trustworthiness of election machines following his 2020 election defeat. The suit ended in a $787 million settlement.<\/p>\n<p>One judge said the order against Perkins Coie signaled that &ldquo;lawyers must stick to the party line, or else.&rdquo; Another found the government sought to use its &ldquo;immense power&rdquo; to dictate what positions firms could take, with Judge Loren AliKhan, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, describing the action against Susman Godfrey as a &ldquo;personal vendetta.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4435531\/doj-seeks-pause-law-firm-executive-order-cases-pending-decision-mark-zaid-appeal\/\">DOJ SEEKS PAUSE IN LAW FIRM EXECUTIVE ORDER CASES<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Although it abandoned its fight against the four firms, the Trump administration did manage to secure commitments from nine others to provide roughly $940 million in <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >pro bono legal services<\/a> to support White House initiatives. Those agreements sparked internal backlash and lawyer resignations across parts of the legal industry.<\/p>\n<p>The decision to end the appeals comes as the DOJ continues to defend against <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.justsecurity.org\/107087\/tracker-litigation-legal-challenges-trump-administration\/\">more than 600 lawsuits<\/a> challenging Trump&rsquo;s second-term agenda, even as it has opted to walk away from select cases in recent months.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8211; Paraphrase:<br \/>\nThe Justice Department has stopped defending President Trump\u2019s executive orders aimed at several large law firms and will voluntarily drop the appeals after lower courts ruled the orders unconstitutional. Four firms\u2014Perkins Coie, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr, Susman Godfrey, and Jenner &amp; Block\u2014were targeted for past hires and work tied to Trump\u2019s political and legal battles, with judges finding the directives violated First, Fifth, and Sixth Amendment protections. The firms criticized the move, while the DOJ declined to comment. Signed last year, the orders were seen as pressuring firms over their positions and clients. Separately, nine other firms pledged about $940 million in pro bono support for White House initiatives. The DOJ remains active in defending hundreds of other lawsuits connected to Trump\u2019s agenda.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; 55-character title:<br \/>\nDOJ drops defense of Trump anti-law-firm orders<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2633,"featured_media":2575564,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/AP25167721245925.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651,538],"tags":[7076,74959,74960,3634],"class_list":["post-2575563","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","category-washington-examiner","tag-doj","tag-executive-orders-2","tag-law-firms-2","tag-trump"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/AP25167721245925.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2575563","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2633"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2575563"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2575563\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2575567,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2575563\/revisions\/2575567"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2575564"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2575563"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2575563"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2575563"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}