Reps. Dave Min, April McClain Delaney Call Out Law Firms Who Made Illegal Deals with Trump, Demand They Disavow Agreements

Washington, D.C. — Today, Representative Dave Min (CA-47) and April McClain Delaney (MD-06) called out the insufficient response from the nine major law firms who made deals with the Trump administration, sending new letters demanding they either admit that they agreed to Donald Trump’s terms, a clear violation of the law, or publicly disavow their agreements. 

In April, Reps. Min and Delaney sent letters demanding answers on the legality of the deals nine major law firms made with the Trump administration, offering nearly $1 billion in pro bono legal services in exchange for not being targeted by the administration. Their responses were less than sufficient, claiming that they did not violate any federal or state laws, or ethics rules, and their firms retained full control and autonomy over which pro bono clients and causes will be represented. However, in the past months, Trump has asserted differently, claiming he can use these pro bono legal services for his tariff negotiations and other legal work of his choosing. 

Today, the Representatives followed up on their April letters, demanding the firms either make a clear and public statement refuting President Trump’s claims that the firms will represent whatever clients and matters he chooses, or continue to be silent, knowing that this silence essentially acquiesces to Trump’s interpretation of the agreement, and potentially exposes them to significant civil and criminal liability, as well as disciplinary actions from the professional bar associations governing the attorneys and firms. 

“As members of the United States House of Representatives, we took an oath to uphold the Constitution and laws of the United States. Many of the signatories to this letter are lawyers, and several of us have worked at major law firms. We cannot let the Trump Administration continue to undermine the rule of law. We strongly urge you to clarify your understanding of the terms of the [...] agreement and publicly disavow any and all terms that the President and members of his Administration have misinterpreted,” wrote Reps. Min and Delaney.

The package of letters is available here. 

The letter was signed by Representatives Delaney (MD-06), Tlaib (MI-12), Pallone (NJ-06), and S. Garcia (TX-29).

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