Trump now broadens campaign of retaliation against lawyers

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump broadened his campaign of retaliation against lawyers he dislikes with a new memorandum that threatens to use govt power to punish any law firms that, in his view, unfairly challenge his administration. The memorandum directs the heads of the justice and homeland security departments to "seek sanctions against attorneys and law firms who engage in frivolous, unreasonable and vexatious litigation against the USs" or in matters that come before federal agencies.
Trump issued the order late on Friday night, after a tumultuous week for the American legal community in which one of the country's premier firms, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, struck a deal with the White House to spare the company from a punitive decree issued by Trump the previous week.
Vanita Gupta, who as a civil rights lawyer and a former justice department official has both sued the govt and defended it in court, said Trump's memo "attacks the very foundations of our legal system by threatening and intimidating litigants who aim to hold our govt accountable to the law and the constitution."
In response to criticism of the memo, a White House spokesperson, Taylor Rogers, said, "President Trump is delivering on his promise to ensure the judicial system is no longer weaponised against the American people. President Trump's only retribution is success and historic achievements for the American people."
The president has long complained that Democratic-leaning lawyers and law firms have pursued what he calls "lawfare" in the form of investigations and lawsuits against him and his allies that he claims are motivated by politics. Since being sworn into office, he has targeted three firms, but the new memo seems to threaten similar punishment for any firm that raises his ire or any lawyer who does.
After Trump issued an order suspending security clearances for Paul Weiss lawyers, and sharply limiting their employees from entering govt buildings or getting govt jobs, the firm agreed to a series of commitments to get the president to cancel the order. As part of the deal, the firm said it would provide $40 million in legal services to causes Trump has championed, including his task force to combat antisemitism. Perkins Coie, another firm targeted by Trump, chose a different tack - suing him in federal court and getting a temporary restraining order against him.
Trump's attacks on law firms, and Paul Weiss' decision to cut a deal rather than fight it out in court, have sent shock waves through the legal community. The sweeping nature of Trump's latest demand comes as he has also stepped up his public attacks on judges and the notion that the courts can tell him what to do or not do.