Mr. Trump said Thursday that President Trump and law firm director Paul Weiss, Rifkinder, Wharton and Garage LLC have reached a deal that Mr. Trump will abandon his executive order against the company.
Trump said in the deal, the company agreed to make a series of commitments, including political affiliation representing clients and contributed $40 million in legal services to Mr. Trump, including “the president’s task force to deal with anti-Semitism, and other mutually agreed projects.”
It is unclear how to use the money to help the task force. The company also said it has agreed to conduct an audit to ensure its hiring practices are based on excellent.
The company’s head, Brad Karp, went to the White House this week and had a face-to-face meeting with Mr. Trump to discuss a resolution. Members of the legal profession said in an interview that they were surprised by the deal, just as the company (a company led by Democrats) succumbed to Mr. Trump through an executive order that might be illegal.
The White House said Mr. Kalp had admitted to a former partner of the company, Mark F. Pomerantz, who admitted to “illegal conduct.” Mr. Pomerantz tried to file a criminal case against Mr. Trump while working in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office a few years ago. It is not clear what Mr. Trump is referring to inappropriately.
“In view of the meeting with Paul, Weiss Chairman Brad Karp, the President is agreeing to the action, during which Mr. Kap acknowledged the wrongdoing of former Paul, Weiss partner Mark Pomerantz, the serious danger of weaponization, and the crucial need to restore our judicial system.”
The deal is a major development for Mr. Trump to open several top law firms that he believes support efforts to help opponents or unfairly sue him. It’s the latest proof of how Mr. Trump uses his power to extract public support from business leaders, news organizations and others on his agenda since his victory in November.
The transaction only applies to executive orders against Paul Weiss. It is unclear what effect it has on other companies’ orders, if any, or whether it will cause Mr. Trump to back down his claimed intentions to follow more people.
Mr. Trump and his allies have refused to represent conservative defendants like Mr. Trump because of their politics, amid numerous charges from large law firms like Paul Weiss. Mr. Cap said at the meeting that his company — the legal work of Trump Allies like Rupert Murdoch’s Fox — will represent clients regardless of their political affiliation.
The company has stable Democratic partners and is well-known among its former Obama administration officials. Mr. Karp provided a “Biden Lawyer” fundraising campaign for President Joseph R. Biden Jr. in 2023, with one of his top lawyers overseeing then-Vice President Kamala Harris preparing for her debate with Trump.
As part of the deal, the company is committed to working with the Trump administration to help veterans, combat anti-Semitism, and be fair in the justice system.
This year, Facebook’s parent company Meta agreed to pay $25 million to resolve a lawsuit filed by Mr. Trump in 2021 for stopping his Facebook and Instagram accounts after the riot at the Capitol on January 6. In this case, most of the money is handed over to Trump’s future presidential library.
ABC News agreed in December to pay $15 million to resolve a defamation lawsuit filed by Mr. Trump, which will also go to his Presidential Library fund.
Mr. Trump’s execution orders against top law firms introduce a new element to his retribution campaign. They have attracted deep attention from legal experts and threatened to cause serious financial problems for the company, resulting in shocking results that prevent them from competing with the Trump administration for clients.
One order targets Covington & Burling, a large company that does legal work for Jack Smith, who worked as a special lawyer during the Biden administration, filed two federal prosecutions against Mr. Trump.
Last week, a federal judge in Washington ruled that a subsequent executive order Mr. Trump signed a sign against law firm Perkins Coie, which is also consistent with the Democrats, may be unconstitutional and issued a restraining order to stop the order.
But two days later, Mr. Trump signed an executive order against Paul Weiss. Mr Trump said he was taking action to punish the company for contact with a lawyer urging to be sued while another lawyer sued the Jan. 6 rioters. The order bars the company’s attorneys from dealing with the federal government and increases the likelihood of its clients losing government contracts.
Last weekend, leaders of top law firms in New York and Washington remained in touch as they tried to figure out how to respond. A series of possibilities were discussed. In these discussions, Paul Weiss contacted Bill Burck, co-managing partner of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP, to represent it.
Quinn Emanuel, one of the few large law firms working for Mr. Trump’s corporate and senior administration officials, is preparing to file a lawsuit for the president on behalf of Paul Weiss. Meanwhile, Mr. Burck had a discussion with the White House and could reach a deal between Mr. Karp and Mr. Trump. On Wednesday, Mr. Karp and Mr. Trump met in the Oval Office to discuss the framework for reaching the agreement.
On the following day, White House aides and Mr. Cap finally settled the terms of the agreement.
