Doj Says It Will Keep Defending Trump’s Attacks On Law Firms, 24 Hours After Saying It Wouldn’t

The Justice Department told a federal appeals court Tuesday that the administration intends to continue defending President Donald Trump’s executive orders targeting law firms — a surprising reversal less than 24 hours after the department informed the same court it no longer wished to defend the orders.

DOJ lawyers did not provide an explanation for their change in posture, which came via a short Tuesday filing. The department declined to comment. The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

“Hours after asking the court to dismiss its appeal, the Department of Justice has abruptly reversed course and moved to continue its defense of the unconstitutional executive orders. It offered no explanation to either the parties or the court for its reversal,” a spokesperson for the law firm Perkins Coie said in a statement.

Judges in four cases last year struck down as unconstitutional Trump’s executive orders seeking to punish law firms affiliated with his political opponents. The Justice Department appealed those losses in June and was set to deliver its opening brief to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on Friday. But in a Monday evening filing, the department declared it no longer wished to pursue the appeal and moved to voluntarily dismiss it.

“Under no circumstances should the government’s unexplained about-face provide a basis for an extension of its brief,” lawyers representing the targeted firms stated in their filing.

Law firms Perkins Coie, Jenner & Block, WilmerHale and Susman Godfrey sued the administration after it sought to suspend their attorneys’ security clearances, cut them off from government contracts and limit their access to government buildings. The firms quickly won in court, with judges appointed by both Republicans and Democrats calling the orders unconstitutional.

A separate group of law firms pledged pro bono legal work to the White House, totaling roughly $1 billion, in exchange for the administration dropping its investigations.

It is not yet immediately clear how the appeals court will handle the Justice Department’s reversal. While department lawyers can move to dismiss a case, the ultimate power to dismiss rests with the three-judge panel handling the appeal.