A Heritage Foundation-linked group is seeking to leverage President
The Oversight Project last week wrote several major law firms suggesting they provide pro bono work worth $10 million to the group and its “center-right” allies to avoid scrutiny from the White House.
Trump has “recently taken executive actions against certain law firms for what the executive branch found was (and is) their role in the weaponization of the legal system,” Mike Howell, Oversight Project executive director, wrote in a letter obtained by Bloomberg News. “In light of these important developments, we request that your firm join us in helping return the legal industry to normalcy where firms once again represent clients of all ideological backgrounds.”
It was not clear whether administration officials were aware of the letter.
Howell specifically requested legal support for Trump priorities such as “challenges to regulatory and state overreach and defense against partisan lawfare.”
“In return, we are prepared to publicly acknowledge your firm’s contribution to restoring balance in the legal landscape and rejecting lawfare,” Howell wrote.
The letter underscores how conservative groups are seeking to take advantage of the orders that have roiled the legal industry. Two major law firms, Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, agreed to provide tens of millions of dollars in pro bono work aligned with priorities of the administration to avert Trump’s executive actions.
“It’s inappropriate for a not-for-profit organization to intimate that they will influence the administration to look favorably on the law firm,” Zeughauser said.
The Oversight Project, which was created by the Heritage Foundation in 2022 and separated from the organization on Monday, was a major antagonist of the Biden administration, filing over 100,000 freedom of information requests and 100 lawsuits. The group obtained reams of federal records they said highlight “woke” government policies now opposed by the Trump administration.
The group this week also announced plans to expand into state and local laws.
Howell confirmed the authenticity of the letter and declined to say if the White House endorsed the Oversight Project’s outreach before it sent the letters to law firms.
“I am sure they will know after you write your article,” Howell wrote in an email.
There are significant divisions within the legal world over Trump’s orders, which sanction major law firms for their ties to his perceived enemies and the lawyers’ alleged “weaponization” of the profession. Instead of capitulating to Trump’s demands, law firms Jenner & Block and WilmerHale and Perkins Coie are suing to challenge Trump’s orders, claiming they are an unconstitutional form of retaliation.
Harrison Fields, a White House spokesperson, called the executive actions “ lawful directives” and that “Democrats and their law firms weaponized the legal process to try to punish and jail their political opponents.”
Trump on Tuesday
Willkie employs
In an emailed statement, the firm said that the agreement was consistent with its longstanding practices, and that it “remains committed to serving the needs of our clients, our employees, and the communities of which we are a part.”
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(Adds White House comment in 15th paragraph)
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Peter Jeffrey, Romy Varghese
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