- Elias Law Group rebuked a Trump memo that warned firms against “frivolous” suits against his administration.
- Elias Law Group’s chair said the firm wouldn’t change who it works with or the lawsuits it brings.
- The ACLU and Democracy Forward also criticized the memo as a threat to the rule of law.
The chair of Elias Law Group has hit back at Donald Trump after being namedropped in a Saturday White House memo that escalated the administration’s attacks on Big Law.
The law firm, founded and chaired by Democratic election lawyer Marc Elias, said in a statement Saturday that there would be “no negotiation” with the White House about the clients it represents or the lawsuits it brings on their behalf.
The White House memo said that firms affiliated with “frivolous” lawsuits against his administration could be targeted for punitive executive actions, such as the reassessment of security clearances.
The presidential memo claimed Elias was “deeply involved in the creation of a false ‘dossier’ by a foreign national designed to provide a fraudulent basis for Federal law enforcement to investigate a Presidential candidate in order to alter the outcome of the Presidential election.”
The memo also alleged Elias “intentionally sought to conceal the role of his client — failed Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton — in the dossier.”
Elias Law Group’s statement, released on behalf of its chair, said Trump is “attempting to dismantle the constitution and attack the rule of law in his obsessive pursuit of retribution against his political opponents.”
“Today’s White House Memo targets not only me and my law firm, but every attorney and law firm who dares to challenge his assault on the rule of law,” said Elias.
“President Trump’s goal is clear,” he added. “He wants lawyers and law firms to capitulate and cower until there is no one left to oppose his Administration in court.”
Trump vs. Big Law
The latest White House memo, titled “Preventing Abuses of the Legal System and the Federal Court,” prompted backlash from nonprofit organizations, including the ACLU and Democracy Forward.
Cecillia Wang, national legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union, said in a Saturday statement that Trump’s actions were a “chilling and unprecedented attack on the foundations of liberty and democracy” and another step “toward dismantling our nation’s rule of law.”
Wang said Trump is attempting to “silence those who embody the mission and ideals of the legal profession,” including Elias.
Skye Perryman, the president and CEO of Democracy Forward, issued a statement saying, “The ongoing threats to the legal profession and the rule of law by the President are intended to intimidate and inspire fear, but instead they should inspire action.”
Elias serves as the board chair of Democracy Forward.
Trump has taken aim at Big Law in recent weeks, singling out firms like Paul Weiss, Perkins Coie, and Covington & Burling to have their workers’ clearances revoked.
On Thursday, Trump scrapped his executive order against Paul Weiss after saying the law firm agreed that it “will not adopt, use, or pursue any DEI policies.”
However, an internal version of the agreement sent to Paul Weiss staff, obtained by Business Insider, omits language about DEI that was in Trump’s post.
A White House spokesperson did not immediately respond to a BI request for comment.
