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.”
The chair of the firm, Thomas M. Cerabino, said that the agreement was “consistent with our Firm’s views on access to Legal representation by clients, including pro bono clients, our commitment to complying with the Law as it relates to our employment practices, and our history of working with clients across a wide spectrum of political viewpoints.” He added that Willkie “looks forward to having a constructive relationship with the Trump Administration.”
Willkie’s pro bono work in recent years has been especially attention-grabbing because it included a defamation win against Rudy Giuliani following his work for Trump after the 2020 election.
Willkie had provided representation to two Georgia poll workers who a jury ruled had been defamed by Rudy Giuliani, Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, awarded a $148 million defamation verdict.