21 attorneys general, including Minnesota’s, fight back
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and a coalition of 21 state attorneys general have issued a strong rebuke of President Donald Trump’s executive orders targeting law firms and the legal community. The open letter urges lawyers across the nation to “stand together” in defense of the rule of law amid what they describe as unconstitutional attacks on the legal profession and judicial independence.
Trump’s latest actions, the attorneys general argue, amount to political retribution against law firms that have challenged his administration’s policies. Five recent executive orders take direct aim at legal entities, alleging they have “weaponized the judicial process” against the president. These orders revoke government contracts, strip attorneys of security clearances, and limit their access to federal buildings, including courthouses.
In a striking move, one order calls for investigations into law firms with diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, an action the attorneys general strongly denounce. The coalition warns that Trump’s targeting of attorneys and firms represents an unprecedented attack on the independence of the legal profession.
“We stand firm in our support of the federal judiciary and judicial independence,” says the issued letter to the legal community on behalf of the coalition states. “We categorically reject the President’s calls for the impeachment of judges in response to rulings contrary to positions his administration has advanced.”
Attorney General Ellison underscored the significance of these developments, calling them “authoritarian” tactics reminiscent of historical efforts to stifle dissent. “Lawyers are not spectators to the Constitution, we are its agents,” Ellison said.
“The right to pick your own legal counsel is a fundamental constitutional right. My fellow attorneys general and I are urging the legal profession to stand strong against the Trump Administration’s attempts to punish lawyers who challenge its unlawful actions and threats to impeach federal judges who rule on the side of the law. These efforts to stifle dissent are downright authoritarian — and we know from the lessons of history that appeasing authoritarian leaders only leads to more authoritarianism.”
Trump’s executive orders have already had a chilling effect. According to a report by the New York Times, one major law firm — Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP — has conceded to the administration’s demands.
The firm agreed to terminate its DEI hiring and promotion practices, pledge political neutrality in client selection, and provide $40 million in legal services to causes Trump supports, including his presidential task force on antisemitism. Legal analysts have widely condemned this as a coercive “shakedown” that sets a dangerous precedent. Sarah Longwell, editor of The Bulwark, characterized the situation as “mob boss government.”
Other firms, however, have resisted. Covington & Burling, based in Washington, D.C., has been targeted for its pro bono representation of former special counsel Jack Smith. Trump’s executive order instructs federal agencies to investigate Covington over $140,000 in legal services provided to Smith, framing the support as an act of partisan defiance.
Perkins Coie, a Seattle-based firm known for its ties to the Democratic Party, has been similarly targeted. Trump accused the firm of conspiring with billionaire philanthropist George Soros to fund opposition research, including the controversial Steele dossier.
Perkins Coie has responded with a legal challenge and recently secured a temporary restraining order from District Court Judge Beryl Howell, who criticized the executive order as “an unconstitutional use of taxpayer dollars and government resources to pursue a personal vendetta.”
Trump’s crackdown on legal opposition extends beyond law firms. He has escalated attacks on federal judges, demanding the impeachment of District Judge James Boasberg over a ruling that temporarily blocked the deportation of Venezuelan asylum seekers. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has also joined the effort, issuing letters to 20 major law firms demanding detailed records of their DEI practices, suggesting they may be in violation of civil rights laws.
Ellison and his colleagues warn that these actions signal an escalating campaign to undermine legal institutions and intimidate lawyers into silence. “If Trump succeeds in bringing the nation’s biggest law firms to heel, he may well turn his attention to the progressive legal community and organizations like the ACLU, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, and the National Lawyers Guild,” the attorneys general wrote.
“We have been there before with McCarthyism and COINTELPRO, when lawyers on the left were routinely surveilled, cited for contempt of court, and sometimes jailed simply for doing their jobs. We cannot afford to go back.”
The letter concludes with a resolute commitment to defending legal independence: “As state attorneys general, we have sworn oaths to uphold the Constitution of the United States. Rule of law is the bedrock of everything that makes our country great. We will not allow anyone, including the President, to bully law firms out of representing clients who may be politically disfavored.
“We will not sit by silently in the face of attempts to attack and intimidate the federal judiciary. We will not allow the rule of law to be undermined. We stand with all our colleagues in the legal community who place the ideals and values of their profession over obedience and silence.”
Joining Attorney General Ellison in the issued letter are Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings and Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, who led the coalition, along with attorneys general from Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.
Jasmine McBride welcomes reader responses at jmcbride@spokesman-recorder.com.