The Bill Has Come Due

An Open Letter to the Big Law Firms that Bent the Knee

Katie Phang Feb 16

Trivia Question of the Day: Who are all these smiling, middle-aged white men?

Here are your possible responses:

A. The Board of Trustees at the Derek Zoolander Center for Kids Who Can’t Read Good and Who Wanna Learn to Do Other Stuff Good Too

B. The faculty at the Baird School for Boys

C. The (current)^[i] managing partners of the nine Big Law firms that “settled” with the Trump Administration

If you answered “C”, then give yourself a gold star. If you answered “A” or “B”, you’re wrong, but I like your sense of humor.

I won’t rehash here in any great detail last year’s settlements between the Trump Regime and these law firms. For that analysis, including why those law firms aren’t likely only being used for truly pro bono work, please go to my YouTube channel (Katie Phang News) and check out my latest episode where I break it all down:

Bottom-line: nine of the largest and most profitable law firms in the world voluntarily agreed to provide close to ONE BILLION DOLLARS (channeling my best Dr. Evil pinky finger to mouth when typing this) in pro bono legal services in support of causes that Convicted Felon Donald Trump deems worthy. In the annals of Big Law, you will not find a similar burst of altruism. Frankly, I don’t think you would find voluntary benevolence on such a scale in modern capitalism, but I digress.

As usual in Trump World, there are contradictory narratives about what happened. The story the Trump Administration tells is tidy and almost civic-minded. In one of many statements about these deals, the Administration described them as “ending the Weaponization of the Justice System and the Legal Profession” and “the Age of Partisan Lawfare in America is OVER.”

The Big Law firms saw it differently. For example, in a joint public statement, Kirkland Ellis, Latham & Watkins, and A&O Shearman stated:

“We have resolved this matter while upholding long-held principles important to each of our firms: equal employment opportunity; providing pro bono assistance to a wide range of underserved populations, and ensuring fairness in the justice system; and representing a broad spectrum of clients on various matters.”

Cadwalader characterized the deal as “consistent with the principles that have guided [the firm] for over 230 years.” Perhaps my favorite response came from Jeremy London, the executive partner at Skadden, Arps. In an internal firm e-mail, London told the firm’s employees that “[t]his agreement does not change who we are.” Sure, Jan.

Let’s be clear: the public statements and internal emails don’t pass any smell test. Any beat cop will tell you that the likely scenario was the major equity partners at these firms wanted to protect their moneymaking machine at all costs.^[ii] If you’re a transactional partner with a $100 million portable book of business, you’ll go to whatever firm keeps your money printing machine operating, moral compass be damned.

Fair enough. But then let’s not be hypocrites and put lipstick on this pig. What do I mean? For years, these mega law firms publicly tout their pro bono commitments as voluntary, principled, and central to their identity. Annual reports describe the tens of thousands of pro bono hours provided, while recruiting materials emphasize that pro bono work is not a coerced, but moral choice.

I ain’t buying this because when you enter into a “settlement” with THIS administration, what you’re signaling is that when the money-making machine is threatened, pro bono work is just another form of currency to be traded. And another important contradiction: when these firms represent clients, they routinely advise to resist improper government pressure. But when the pressure turns inward? Duck and cover.

The outcome of all of this on our country is to be determined. In 1920s Italy and 1930s Germany, the major economic, political, and religious institutions all believed that placating the Fascists would not result in terrible consequences. I need not remind you dear reader how that all turned out.

So we get to the purpose of this column: I’m sending an open letter to each of these law firms asking for straightforward information about their settlements with the Trump Administration. You can find the letter here:

[I also cc’ed the heads of the pro bono practices/services at these law firms for good measure.]

I would like the senior partners at these firms, the heads of their pro bono practices, and their public relations folks to share with all of us the details of their compliance with their “settlements.” And, no, I don’t have subpoena power or the ability to coerce compliance from the firms. All I can do is write a follow-up column about the responses I get – or DON’T get – and then share it with you. Frankly, I have a bet with my husband that the firms will send me a coordinated response that is substantively non-responsive (he’s a cynic). I’d like to think if these firms are so proud of the work they’re doing on behalf of the Administration, there should be no problem in sharing all of the details.

So watch this space!

P.S. If you’re an employee at one of these firms and wish to anonymously share with me what’s happening, please feel free to reach out on Signal: @ksp.93

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^[i] When I originally conceived of the idea for this column, Brad Karp (friend/confidante to Jeffrey Epstein) was still the head of Paul, Weiss. He has since resigned as the Chair, but remains employed at the firm, with, I suspect, a very high salary.

^[ii] It’s recently been reported that the powers that be at Paul, Weiss call this formidable group of partners “The Deciding Group.” Honestly, I’m unimpressed. My little girl could have come up with a better name. I asked my ChatGPT what it thought and it gave me the following response: “You’re right. ‘The Deciding Group’ sounds like a municipal zoning committee that meets at 7:30 a.m. and ruins lives quietly. It has no menace, no mystique, no ‘we end careers before lunch’ energy.” ChatGPT then gave me several suggested names, including the following: “The Council, The Gatekeepers, The Bench, The High Table. and The Final Word.” My personal vote is for The High Table.

 

Trump On President's Day - Rot, Failure, And Decline

The tide is turning against the most un-American leader America has ever had

Simon Rosenberg Feb 16

Morning all. I was going to write something a bit more breezy today, and let Saturday’s post full of videos and links be the bulk of the content, but I was struck today by the tone of the coverage I encountered this morning, and how much of it had a “Trump is batshit crazy and failing”/Emperor has no clothes vibe.

This vibe matters for next week is the State of the Union, and we will be spending the next few weeks assessing the health of the nation and Trump’s second term. Based on my read of the news vibe right now Trump is entering this consequential period in a bad place.

For the truth is Trump’s first year has been a disaster for him politically and electorally, and for the nation more broadly. He has very, very little that the can sell the to public next week that they will want to buy.

Let’s review - the economy has slowed. Inflation has remained too high. The Fed stopped cutting interest rates. For the first time in history we no longer have the highest credit rating in any of the top three credit rating agencies. Consumer confidence has been the lowest in sixty years. Crypto is crashing. Our health care system has been badly damaged. We are losing manufacturing jobs. Our world leading research ecosystem has been under a sustained assault. Trump is the most corrupt politician in our history. He is a 34 times felon, and his time in office has resembled a crime spree far more than an America Presidency. The Epstein coverup is staggering in its immorality and lawlessness, and he has now also clearly failed to contain the extraordinary scandal. The country has rejected mass deportation and his brutal assault on communities across the country. We keep winning and overperforming in elections of all kinds across the country, and are also now likely to win the redistricting war he recklessly, impulsively, initiated. He has alienated our allies, sided with Putin, and is leaving us alone, isolated, and far less safe. He is regularly murdering people on the high seas, and his vaporization of USAID will end up killing tens of millions of the poorest people on Earth, including millions of children. It would be accurate to call him a mass murderer.

The list goes on and on……

Let’s get to his coverage I mentioned. On Friday Axios ran a big story, written by its two founders, about Trump’s weakening hold on Washington with this dramatic image:

Today, another well read insider DC publication, Politico, has a similar story that leads with this image:

The article is essentially a long list of his failures, retreats, fuck ups, and batshit craziness. Let’s dive in:

President Donald Trump’s first year back in office was defined by sweeping upheaval that was largely plotted out during his four-year Florida exile. But the president has somehow intensified the volatility in year two with a succession of whiplash-inducing policy swings, several of which have almost immediately withered in the face of Republican opposition and public outcry.

The administration this week finally withdrew the thousands of federal law enforcement officers from Minneapolis, after violent and at times deadly clashes with protesters turned the tide of public opinion against the president’s immigration crackdown.

It came after Trump threatened to decertify Canadian aircraft, a move deemed “unjustified and dangerous” by a Washington-based aerospace trade union that the president soon dropped. Trump said in early January that he’d cap credit card rates at 10 percent, a move that would have upended the banking industry, only to change his mind and ask Congress for legislation.

Also last month, Trump’s administration paused millions in Centers for Disease Control and Prevention funding for state public health infrastructure — only to reverse course roughly 24 hours later…..

……The president has made numerous pronouncements with emphatic declarations on social media, sometimes even suggesting he is governing by fiat in cases where legislation is required. But he has quickly moved on from many of them: a cap on credit card interest rates, 50-year mortgages and, according to a new Financial Times report, possibly even the sweeping tariffs on aluminum and steel that have led to higher costs.

While some have come to expect out-of-the-box ideas posted at all hours and others even see a certain gutsiness in Trump’s move-fast-and-break-things approach, the effects can be real and devastating for those caught in the crosshairs of an untested idea……

……the reversals have a way of capturing bigger headlines.

At the start of last week, Trump threatened to halt the opening of a new bridge between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, in a further move against Canada — only to seemingly drop it.

It came after Trump backed off one of his biggest foreign policy moves of the year: his gambit to seize Greenland from NATO ally Denmark, which prompted strong European resistance.

Last April on what he called “Liberation Day,” Trump imposed higher tariffs on nearly every country despite warnings from Wall Street. But he quickly backtracked, lowering them within days following tremors in global bond markets.

Stories like these, written in these skeptical “holy shit the guy is a fuck up” tone would have been unimaginable in DC six months ago. But here we are. A week before the State of the Union. Ugly stuff for our very ugly leader and his rancid regime.

Look at this other story from Politico today:

Here is how the story begins:

Home builders are warning President Donald Trump that his aggressive immigration enforcement efforts are hurting their industry. They’re cautioning that Republican candidates could soon be hurt, too.

Construction executives have held multiple meetings over the last month with the White House and Congress to discuss how immigration busts on job sites and in communities are scaring away employees, making it more expensive to build homes in a market desperate for new supply. Beyond the affordability issue, the executives made an electability argument, raising concerns to GOP leaders that support among Hispanic voters is eroding, particularly in regions that swung to Trump in 2024.

Hill Republicans have held separate meetings with White House officials to share their own electoral concerns.

This story is based on eight interviews with home builders, lawmakers and others familiar with the meetings.

“I told [lawmakers] straight up: South Texas will never be red again,” said Mario Guerrero, the CEO of the South Texas Builders Association, a Trump voter who traveled to Washington last week.

He urged the administration and lawmakers to ease up on enforcement at construction sites, warning that employees are afraid to go to work.

The construction industry is one of the latest and clearest examples of how the president’s mass deportation agenda continues to clash with his economic goals of bringing down prices and political aims of keeping control of Congress. Even the president’s allies fear disruptions to labor-heavy industries will undermine the gains with Latino voters Republicans have made in recent years, in large part because of Trump’s economic agenda.

These concerns were the central focus of a White House meeting this week between chief of staff Susie Wiles, Speaker Mike Johnson, and a group of Republican lawmakers, according to three people with knowledge of the meeting, granted anonymity to discuss it. The group talked about growing concerns that Hispanic voters are abandoning the Republican Party in droves, as well as the policies driving these losses — immigration and affordability concerns.

The growing Republican freakout over the economic and political consequences of Trump’s mass deportation polices became so great this week that Mike Johnson, the Cowardly Speaker, had to bring a delegation of Members to the White House!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In my weekly talk this week, Trump Is Weaker, And Our Movement Is Stronger, I reviewed what a bad week Trump was having in Washington. He signaled retreat in Minnesota. He lost two hugely important tariff votes in the House, getting rebuked, loudly, publicly, on his most important economic policy. Democrats refused to bend the knee on DHS funding and the Department shut down. Zelenskyy is just not yielding to Trump’s unrelenting pro-Russian blackmail, and Rubio is looking small and pathetic this week in Europe:

And then there’s the polling……FiftyPlusOne has Trump at his lowest level of his second term now, -19, a staggering 31 point net drop (crash?) in just 13 months:

That’s what we are seeing. Part of the reason I think Republicans in Congress have been a bit slow to challenge Trump is that the polls they see are much better for Trump than what we see. But even in that world Trump’s rot and decay has become impossible to ignore. Here is a chart Claude AI and I put together this morning of the one of the most pro-Trump pollsters out there, Quantus Insights. They just released a 43-56 (-13) poll for Trump. The trend is brutal for him, even among his most favorable of the red wave pollsters:

As we hoped last summer the tide has turned against Trump. He has gone too far. Is too much of a fuck up. Things are not better in America. He done lasting harm to all of us. And it has become impossible to pretend otherwise, even among the supine Republicans in DC. His grip on the city is weakening, and even the insidery DC press has begun to turn against him for the state of the union is shitty, my friends, as shitty as its ever been.

Let us summon the courage of Washington and Lincoln, and the people of Minnesota, and now…….