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Jenner & Block wins over Trump executive order [1]
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Date: 2025-05-24
In a nearly identical end to the Perkins Coie case, Jenner & Block have gotten a decision that makes Trump's executive order against them null and void.
Jenner & Block's main crime was having hired Andrew Weissman, who had been on Robert Muller's team investigating Trump's campaign involvement with the Russians, even though he left the firm in 2021.
U.S. District Judge John Bates, appointed by George W. Bush, said in his decision, "This order, like the others, seeks to chill legal representation the administration doesn't like, thereby insulating the Executive Branch from the judicial check fundamental to the separation of powers. It thus violates the Constitution and the court will enjoin its operation in full."
"The challenged executive order targets Jenner for what it has said and thereby attempts to dampen what it might yet say. That is unconstitutional under any view of the First Amendment."
The other reason the order was struck down was the right to counsel. Judge Bates noted that Trump had said, as in the Perkins Coie order, that their pro bono work was working against national interests as Jenner & Block was in court representing those challenged by Trump's executive orders and policies.
"This order, like the others, seeks to chill legal representation the administration doesn't like, thereby insulating the Executive Branch from the judicial check fundamental to the separation of powers," Judge Bates added.
Judge Bates 5 page decision (PDF).
Judge Bates 52 page memorandum explaining the decision (PDF).
As with the other orders, Jenner & Block's directed all federal agencies to cancel contracts with the firm, make all contractors to reveal contact with Jenner & Block, suspend their security clearances and block them from federal buildings. It was either fight for their constitutional rights or go out of business.
Andrew Weissman has been a frequent legal expert on MSNBC as a commentator on Trump's personal legal cases and now on Trump and his administration's actions since Trump became president. He was prominently named in the Jenner & Block order, as Marc Elias was in the Perkins Coie order.
The administration has not filed an appeal in the Perkins Coie case, and it was not clear that the administration would file an appeal in this case. Politico did not get a response from the Justice Department when asked.
Judge Bates continued, "Like the others in this series, this order --- which takes aim at the global law firm Jenner & Block --- makes no bones about why it chose its target; it picked Jenner because of the causes it champions, the clients Jenner represents, and a lawyer Jenner once employed."
Other firms fighting orders include WilmerHale and Susman Godfrey. Firms that have capitulated are Paul Weiss, Skadden, Latham and Watkins and still more. Their most obvious penalty was hundreds of millions of dollars of pro bono legal work that Trump would direct. Tucked away in an other executive order Trump revealed that some of that work would be directed to defending law enforcement personnel accused of use of excessive force and civil rights violations.
"The Administration has shown a repeated willingness to haggle, sending the message loud and clear that Jenner can spare itself --- if it compromises its speech. So whereas retaliation usually punishes once and moves along, the retaliation here is ongoing and avoidable."
Once you give in to Trump, he always comes back for more. Judge Bates recognized that fact. Jenner asked for a block to future actions by Trump against the law firm, and Bates wrote that while he was sympathetic, that it was beyond the Court's authority to halt "hypothetical future actions," even if they were additional unconstitutional actions.
Once again, another law firm has shown that it is always worth it to fight against Trump, because the executive orders are so blatantly illegal. Law firms that have knuckled under have discovered that both important clients and top lawyers are leaving on principle.
Jenner & Block and Perkins Coie should be trailblazers for WilmerHale and Susman Godfrey. The cases are exactly the same, and there are already two precedents to help.
Never give up, never give in. It's the only way to fight Trump and his attacks on the Constitution.
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