Donald
Trump’s
aggressive
and
questionable
use
of
Executive
Orders
to
turn
the
country
into
a
far-right
hellscape
continues.
Last
night,
he
signed
an
EO
that
ramps
up
the
police
state
—
targeting
sanctuary
cities
that
have
refused
to
go
along
with
Trump’s
vision
on
immigration.
Specifically,
the
EO
seeks
to
use
the
military
to
run
point
on
domestic
law
enforcement
(Posse
Comitatus
Act,
be
damned!)
and
insulate
police
officers
from
legal
consequences
(because
I
guess
qualified
immunity
isn’t
enough).
It’s
some
dystopian
shit.
But
thanks
to
the
cowardly
capitulation
of
multiple
firms,
this
is
also
a
Biglaw
story.
The
EO
specifically
provides
the
following:
The
Attorney
General
shall
take
all
appropriate
action
to
create
a
mechanism
to
provide
legal
resources
and
indemnification
to
law
enforcement
officers
who
unjustly
incur
expenses
and
liabilities
for
actions
taken
during
the
performance
of
their
official
duties
to
enforce
the
law.
This
mechanism
shall
include
the
use
of
private-sector
pro
bono
assistance
for
such
law
enforcement
officers.
So…
the
Biglaw
firms
that
inked
deals
with
Trump
(Paul
Weiss,
Kirkland,
Latham,
Skadden,
Milbank,
Willkie,
Simpson
Thacher,
A&O
Shearman,
and
Cadwalader)
to
get
out
from
the
right-wing
doghouse
will
be
asked
—
or,
more
ominously,
assigned
—
to
work
on
defending
police
officers
accused
of
using
excessive
force.
Huh,
it
looks
like
providing
the
Trump
administration
with
$950
million
in
a
pro
bono
payola
slush
fund
was
a
terrible
idea.
Who
would
have
guessed,
except
literally
everyone?
I’m
sure
(at
least
some
of)
the
firms
will
try
to
assure
the
rank-and-file
internally
that
they’ll
be
able
to
set
boundaries
with
the
Trump
administration.
But
that’s
not
how
appeasing
a
bully
works!
As
my
colleague
Joe
Patrice
has
already
written
about
the
constantly
evolving
terms
of
these
deals
using
an
elaborate
Star
Wars
analogy
that
casts
the
cowardly
Biglaw
firms
as
Lando
Calrissian:
And
what
are
the
firms
gonna
do
about
it?
Other
than
privately
mumble
that
“This
deal
is
getting
worse
all
the
time!”
they’re
going
to
go
along
with
it
because
they’re
already
pot
committed
at
this
point.
Reversing
course
now
doesn’t
get
them
anything
but
an
even
harsher
executive
order
that
they’ve
already
told
the
whole
market
they
don’t
have
the
courage
to
fight.These
firms
thought
they
were
buying
peace.
What
they
bought
was
a
public
admission
that
they
could
be
shaken
down.
And
at
every
stage
from
here
on,
the
terms
will
change.
Because
bullies
don’t
honor
deals.
They
escalate.
You
give
them
access
to
a
tibanna
gas
mine,
and
next
thing
you
know,
they’re
freezing
your
friends
in
carbonite
and
conscripting
you
as
the
shadow
Justice
Department.
So
the
firms
that
capitulated
to
Trump
are
on
a
slippery
slope
to
defending
police
officers
—
a
shockingly
far
cry
from
where
these
same
firms
were
in
2020.
Which
leaves
one
question
lingering
—
what
other
legal
work
will
these
firms
be
asked,
or
told,
to
do
before
Trump
has
exhausted
his
$950
million
war
chest?
Kathryn
Rubino
is
a
Senior
Editor
at
Above
the
Law,
host
of
The
Jabot
podcast,
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
AtL
tipsters
are
the
best,
so
please
connect
with
her.
Feel
free
to
email
her
with
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments
and
follow
her
on
Twitter
@Kathryn1 or
Mastodon
@[email protected].