WASHINGTON – A wave of concern is spreading across law firms and legal professionals as former President Donald Trump’s retribution campaign intensifies. On Monday, a group of legal experts sounded the alarm, calling it an “attack on the rule of law” unfolding in real-time.
“There’s no question that there’s fear,” former federal prosecutor Andrew Weissmann said Monday on MSNBC. “And you see that in legal firms, you see that in corporations, and they’re all sort of victimized and worried about being victimized.”
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Weissmann, who served as the lead prosecutor in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election, emphasized the gravity of Trump’s push for revenge against his perceived legal adversaries.
“I just want to make sure people understand, like, how important this is, because this can seem like such a small and in the weeds,” Weissmann told MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace. “This is literally the attack on the rule of law.”
He added, “This is saying, ‘We are going to attack defense counsel that is part of our legal system.’” The dire warning came just days after Trump reportedly took executive actions against two major law firms known for representing his political adversaries.
The move has raised concerns within the legal community about the potential consequences for attorneys defending clients targeted by Trump and his allies. Marc Elias, the founder of Democracy Docket, echoed Weissmann’s concerns, stressing that fear is widespread among legal professionals.
“I think there is a lot of genuine fear in the legal community,” Elias said. “That’s why I’m laying down this challenge: That’s fine, you know, be afraid, but if ultimately you think being a lawyer and the oath you took means, you know, avoiding representing people, being targeted by the powerful and by the federal government, then I just don’t understand why you became a lawyer.”
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“I don’t understand what business you’re in or why you do what you do,” he added. Elias also expressed frustration with the legal industry’s muted response, concluding that he was “disappointed” by how few prominent law firms have pushed back against Trump’s actions.
“This is not okay, and I’m not going to stand for this,” he said, calling for a stronger stance from the legal profession against political retaliation. As concerns mount over Trump’s actions, the legal community faces growing pressure to defend the independence of the judiciary and the foundational principles of the American legal system.
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