The Talking Yam announced Thursday that he was rescinding his executive order against a law firm that sued alleged Jan. 6 rioters, but with several catches, among them that the firm must do $40 million of free work for the administration. Via The Daily Beast:
Last Friday, Trump’s order rescinded federal government contracts held by Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. The order cited a pro bono suit against suspected Jan. 6 rioters and the re-hiring of Mark Pomerantz, who worked in the Manhattan’s district attorney’s office during its investigation of Trump, as cause for presidential action. The order also accused the Manhattan firm of race and gender discrimination.
In addition to revoking contracts, Trump ordered the same for firm members’ active security clearances.
It was amid those drastic measures that Trump announced that he was able to extract considerable value from the firm in exchange for dropping the order.
In his statement on Truth Social, Trump said in part that the firm “will take on a wide range of pro bono matters that represent the full spectrum of political viewpoints of our society, whether ‘conservative’ or ‘liberal.’”
He continued that it will “not adopt, use, or pursue any DEI policies,” and, most stunningly, “will dedicate the equivalent of $40 million in pro bono legal services over the course of President Trump’s term to support the Administration’s initiatives, including: assisting our Nation’s veterans, fairness in the Justice System, the President’s Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, and other mutually agreed projects.”
