Attorney General Bonta Stands with WilmerHale and Jenner & Block in Defense of Free Speech and Rule of Law

OAKLAND – California Attorney General Rob Bonta today, along with 20 other state attorneys general, filed amicus briefs in support of WilmerHale and Jenner & Block in their lawsuits against the Trump Administration over its retaliatory executive orders, which target law firms that represent clients or positions it disagrees with. If allowed to take effect, these orders would make it harder for those the President disfavors to retain counsel, interfering with lawyers’ practice of law, chilling free speech in and out of courtrooms, and hindering courts’ exercise of the judicial power.  

“The Trump Administration’s disregard for the First Amendment and disrespect for foundational tenets of American democracy is egregious and alarming,” said Attorney General Bonta. “I stand in strong support of my fellow attorneys at WilmerHale and Jenner & Block and applaud their staunch refusal to bow to the President’s unconstitutional demands, even as some of their peers abandon their principles and strike deals with this Administration. I urge the court to grant permanent injunctions and end the President’s latest attempt to undermine our adversarial judicial system and the rule of law.” 

In their amicus brief, the attorneys general support WilmerHale and Jenner & Block’s motions for summary judgment to permanently halt the Trump Administration’s retaliatory actions against these law firms. The attorneys general argue that the orders violate the First Amendment, disregard the right to counsel under the First and Sixth Amendments, and severely undermine the rule of law.  

Attorney General Bonta has vocally and vigorously called out President Trump’s assault on the rule of law. Last month, Attorney General Bonta, along with 20 other state attorneys general issued an open letter urging the legal community to stand together in defense of the rule of law in response to President Trump’s recent attacks, which include calls for the impeachment of federal judges and threats of retribution against law firms and attorneys who take or have taken positions in opposition to him or his Administration. Attorney General Bonta also issued a separate statement on the need to speak up and push back when our democratic norms are violated, our legal system undermined, and our laws broken. Earlier, Attorney General Bonta filed an amicus brief in support of another law firm, Perkins Coie, that had been targeted by President Trump for its representation of Hillary Clinton and its diversity, equity, and inclusion policies.

Attorney General Bonta joins the attorneys general of Illinois, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Washington, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and Vermont in filing the amicus briefs.  

A copy of the brief in support of WilmerHale is available here. A copy of the brief in support of Jenner & Block is available here.