(WASHINGTON) — Democratic lawmakers sent a series of letters early Thursday morning to nine separate law firms that have struck agreements this spring with the Trump administration, questioning whether the deals for pro bono work in exchange for the reversal of executive orders issued by President Donald Trump or to avoid being targeted in future missives may violate federal bribery, extortion, honest services fraud or racketeering laws.
In correspondence, shared exclusively with ABC News, California Democratic Rep. Dave Min and Maryland Democratic Rep. April Delaney are leading 15 Democratic colleagues in demanding details of the arrangements from the leadership of some of the country’s most elite law firms from Washington to New York.
The firms included in the letter are: Kirkland & Ellis LLP, Latham & Watkins LLP, Allen Overy Shearman Sterling LLP, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP, and Milbank LLP.
Throughout the spring, Trump announced in posts on his social media platform, fresh agreements with the firms — totaling nearly $1 billion in pro-bono work. Trump’s posts also show that firms agreed to strike Diversity, Equity and Inclusion considerations from their hiring practices — committing to “Merit-Based Hiring, Promotion, and Retention” while also pledging that they would not deny representation to clients based on political views.
The agreements worry the Democratic lawmakers, who believe the deals “capitulate to clear abuse of the law by the Trump administration.”
On April 10, during a Cabinet meeting, Trump floated the idea that the pro-bono commitments could be used to “help” the United States with trade negotiations as he imposes tariffs across the globe.
“So I think we’re going to and trying to use these, these very prestigious firms to help us out with the trade because, you know, we have a lot of countries, but we want to make deals that are proper for the United States,” Trump told reporters.
“By entering into an agreement that appears to be in response to the threat of illegal economic coercion against your firm from the Trump administration, your firm is not simply agreeing to provide certain pro bono services or end certain personnel hiring and retention practices,” the lawmakers caution in their letter. “Agreements of this kind also signal acquiescence to an abuse of federal power, raising serious questions about how or whether your firm would represent clients or take on matters that might be seen as antagonistic to President Trump or his agenda.”
On April 11, the president announced that Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft — a famed Wall Street powerhouse — is among the firms that struck a deal, committing $100 million dollars in pro-bono services itself. Cadwalader is the former law firm of Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who served as the president’s former criminal defense attorney in 2024 before joining the current administration.
“Law firms are just saying: ‘Where do I sign? Where do I sign?'” Trump said March 26. “Nobody can believe it.”
“We do not wish to prematurely judge or assess guilt,” the letter states. “Our aim however, is to gather comprehensive information with respect to the formation and implementation of the…agreement and resulting legal and ethical quandaries.”
The letters request details from each firm on its “motivations for entering into this agreement, how was an agreement reached, and what specific terms or promises were made.” The lawmakers also inquire whether the deals comply with state bar ethics requirements, contending that the agreements may raise issues with state bar professional codes of conduct rules for lawyers.
“We are sympathetic to the circumstances in which your firm finds itself, with the Administration using coercive and illegal measures to target certain law firms and threaten their ability to represent and retain their clients,” the letter states, requesting a response from each firm by May 8.
ABC News’ Michelle Stoddart & Katherine Faulders contributed to this report
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