President Donald Trump has made no secret about going after those he perceives have persecuted him since he entered politics — and the list ranges from his own former White House team and Republicans like former Congress members Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger to former Special Counsel Jack Smith and law firms that worked on behalf of those who sought to prosecute Trump for alleged crimes.
Seeking to punish the latter, Trump issued an executive order aimed at three firms in particular, scuttling their security clearances, limiting their ability to conduct business with the federal government, and reducing access by to federal buildings, along with other conditions aimed at punishing the firms avenging what he perceives as his unfair treatment.
(The New York Times described the order as “part of a broader retribution campaign against law firms.”)
Seeking to get his firm out from under the onerous conditions, Brad Karp, chairman of the most well known of those firms, Paul Weiss, met with Trump at the White House this week and obtained what is essentially a “get out of jail” card for his firm, negotiating a deal which included the firm providing $40 million in pro bono work for causes the Trump administration supports.
To many, paying $40 million to a President for the opportunity to operate just as the firm operated before the executive order sounded like the result of an extortion tactic.
The deal prompted one reporter to ask Trump, “What do you say to critics that say your actions towards law firms amount to coercion?”
Reporter: What you say to critics that say your actions towards law firms amount to coercion?
Trump: Well, the law firms all want to make deals pic.twitter.com/dNcr8ekTWm
— Acyn (@Acyn) March 21, 2025
Trump answered: “Well the law firms all want to make deals. You mean the law firms we’re going after that went after me for four years ruthlessly, violently, illegally? Are those the law firms you’re talking about? They’re not babies, they’re very sophisticated people. Those law firms did bad things.”
Trump’s answer reveals that he essentially decided that $40 million and other conditions was the appropriate fine for alleged “violent, illegal” actions by the firm. He then hired the same firm to promote his causes.
In this case, the law firm made the choice to “settle” rather than pursue what it assessed as an unwinnable case. The move, for now, seems to have removed Paul Weiss from the President’s enemies list.