President Donald Trump signed an executive order on April 9 blocking law firm Susman Godfrey from accessing government resources and buildings.
Susman Godfrey, which represents Dominion Voting Systems in defamation lawsuits against Trump’s former personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, is the latest law firm targeted by the administration. The previous executive orders prohibited the firms from doing business with the U.S. government. Some of the firms reached settlements with the administration.
Susman Godfrey’s contracts with the government have also been terminated.
The order accuses the firm of spearheading “efforts to weaponize the American legal system and degrade the quality of American elections” and funding “groups that engage in dangerous efforts to undermine the effectiveness of the U.S. military through the injection of political and radical ideology, and it supports efforts to discriminate on the basis of race.”
It also alleges that Susman Godfrey has discriminated on the basis of race, citing a program where the firm “offers financial awards and employment opportunities only to ’students of color.'”
Susman Godfrey, based in Houston, Texas, currently represents electronic voting machine manufacturer Dominion Voting Systems in defamation lawsuits against Giuliani, former Trump campaign lawyer Sidney Powell, and others related to Trump’s efforts to challenge the results of the 2020 presidential election.
On Wednesday, a Delaware judge ruled in favor of Dominion and its lawyers at Susman Godfrey in a related case against Newsmax. In 2023, Fox News agreed to pay Dominion $787.5 million to settle a similar election-related case that Susman Godfrey was also handling.
In a statement to The Epoch Times, Susman Godfrey said it will challenge the executive order.
“Anyone who knows Susman Godfrey knows we believe in the rule of law, and we take seriously our duty to uphold it,” the law firm said.
“This principle guides us now. There is no question that we will fight this unconstitutional order.”
Several law firms previously targeted by Trump have settled with the White House, agreeing to provide pro bono counsel for veterans and other causes.
Pomerantz worked in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and was part of the investigation into Trump while he was out of office. Trump was charged with and convicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records and violating campaign laws related to a money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election. For his sentence, Trump was given an unconditional discharge, resulting in no penalty.
The policy changes at Paul, Weiss, stated the executive order, include “adopting a policy of political neutrality with respect to client selection and attorney hiring; taking on a wide range of pro bono matters representing the full political spectrum; committing to merit-based hiring, promotion, and retention, instead of ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’ policies.”
Other law firms targeted by Trump, including Perkins Coie, WilmerHale, and Jenner & Block, have gone to court, looking to overturn the executive orders targeting them.
