House Oversight Democrats to probe Trump law firm deals

Democratic members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee are launching an investigation into the deals several law firms made with President Trump to avoid being targeted by executive orders.  

The committee’s top Democrat on Monday requested documents and information from several law firms that cut deals with the president to provide millions of dollars in free legal work for causes aligned with the administration, after he singled out some firms with punitive executive orders for their ties to his political adversaries.  

The firms Paul, Weiss and Skadden were sent individual letters with the requests, while the firms Kirkland & Ellis; A&O Shearman; Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, and Latham & Watkins were sent a joint letter. 

Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), who is now stepping back as ranking member of the Oversight Committee, and Rep. Dave Min (D-Calif.) said the information sought would help inform their investigation into the Trump administration’s “practice of targeting” companies, groups and people based on Trump’s “personal or political grievance.” 

“America’s promise of equal justice under law will perish if the legal profession allows itself to be coerced into denying representation to the people who need it most,” Connolly and Min wrote in the letters. 

The committee Democrats said they want to know whether the agreements are lawful, if they run afoul of the ethical and legal obligations of federal officials and others who helped reach the deals and how the agreements could affect the global competitiveness of the nation’s top law firms. 

“The facts we gather as our investigation progresses will, of course, inform our legislative focus,” they wrote.