Standing Together, Attorney General Bonta and 20 State Attorneys General Call Out Law Firms’ Capitulation to Trump’s Anti-Democratic Demands

OAKLAND – California Attorney General Rob Bonta today, alongside the 20 other state attorneys general, expressed in an open letter his continued support for the law firms that have fought back against President Trump’s unconstitutional attempts to target law firms and lawyers for advocacy the Trump Administration disfavors. The letter goes on to express profound disappointment with some of the country’s largest law firms for capitulating to President Trump’s unlawful, anti-democratic demands. In a series of executive orders, President Trump has targeted law firms that represent clients or positions he disagrees with. These orders strike at the heart of First Amendment principles and are unconstitutional on their face. In the open letter, the state attorneys general reaffirm their commitment to supporting those law firms that have chosen to fight back — and urge those law firms that capitulated to the Administration’s demands to rescind their agreements and join them in the fight. 

“The Trump Administration’s increasing attacks on the rule of law, our legal system, and our independent judiciary are galling,” said Attorney General Bonta. “Since taking office, the President has launched a full-frontal assault on our democracy, and our legal system has played a necessary and invaluable role in these first 100 days in providing a check to his executive power. The decision by some of our nation’s largest law firms to capitulate to the President’s unreasonable, unprecedented, and frankly unconstitutional demands will only serve to embolden him further and create a chilling effect among legal professionals seeking to fairly and justly represent their clients. I stand by those firms that are resisting the pressure to submit to these demands and urge those law firms that already capitulated to change course and join us in defense of rule of law.”

In this dark moment, we must be clear-eyed about what is occurring. Together with the President’s other attempts to eliminate checks on executive power, this Administration’s efforts to co-opt the legal profession — aided by the complicity of some of America’s most prominent law firms — are unmistakable steps on a path to eviscerating the critical constitutional safeguards that have long distinguished our country from authoritarian regimes. Fortunately, there is another path. Four law firms have sued to block President Trump’s unconstitutional executive orders: Perkins Coie, WilmerHale, Jenner & Block, and Susman Godfrey. All four law firms have succeeded in obtaining court orders temporarily blocking the executive orders targeting their firms. 

Attorney General Bonta, alongside other state attorneys general and courageous law firms, has stood in strong support of these firms, filing amicus briefs in support of Perkins Coie, WilmerHale, Jenner & Block, and Susman Godfrey. He has also vigorously spoken out against the Trump Administration’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.

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

A copy of the letter is available here.