Doug Emhoff publicly criticizes his law firm for coming to agreement with Trump administration [View all]
Source: CNN
By Jake Tapper, CNN
Updated 5:48 PM EDT, Sat April 5, 2025
CNN
—
Speaking at a charity gala dinner Thursday night in Los Angeles, former second gentleman Doug Emhoff condemned the decision by his law firm to preemptively come to an arrangement with the Trump administration to avoid an executive order targeting the firm, sources tell CNN.
Emhoff is a partner at Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, which this week agreed to a deal with President Donald Trump, which the president said includes the firm providing at least $100 million in pro bono legal services throughout his second term. It’s the third example of a high-profile firm cutting a deal with the White House as Trump has targeted firms that have done work with his perceived political enemies.
Emhoff told the crowd at the Annual Dinner Gala for the legal aid group Bet Tzedek he had told the firm he wanted to fight the threat of an executive order he found unconstitutional but had been overruled, the sources said.
On Tuesday, Trump announced on Truth Social he had come to an agreement with the firm. The agreement, Trump stated, also means the firm “will not engage in illegal DEI discrimination and preferences” and “will not deny representation to clients … because of the personal political views of individual lawyers.”
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/05/politics/doug-emhoff-criticizes-his-law-firm-for-coming-to-agreement-with-trump-administraiton/index.html