On the question of if the dismissal was premised on deception #LyingToTheJudge
• There is no requirement that a party
disclose or attach a settlement when it dismisses an action (p. 8) except the duty of candor to the court who was left very confused with the lack of even mention of a settlement (Doc 62)
• They point to Dominion v. Herring to prove that you can indeed close a case without a settlement of record — when one party is dying of Alzheimer's (pp. 8–9) — this was intended as a dig at the #SusmanGodfrey law firm, one of the firms resisting Trump's extortionate Executive Orders, was also on that case.
• The judge's pointing out there was no settlement of record is proof we didn't defraud the court and at that same time the judge was fully aware of the circumstances (p. 12) even though filing parties usually only consent to their requested dismissal with prejudice when they are getting something for it in a settlement.
On the question of whether the case should be reopened because the Court was the “victim of a fraud.” #FraudUponTheCourt
• You can't defraud the court if you hide everything the court needs to make a reasoned decision (p. 12)
• 'Sides even if we did mention we were about to get control of almost $2 billion in tax payers' dollars, what could the court do about it? (p. 8)
• Even if the court is a victim of a fraud, reopening the case can only lead to the closing of the case, no harm, no foul. (pp. 11–12, 13–14)
#lawsuit #appeal update from Friday continues with more briefs:
#SusmanGodfrey:
• We are being punished for doing our job as lawyers and Constitutionally associating with fellow scapegoat of the President's woes Dominion.
• This retaliation for ... checks notes ... existing without worshiping #Trump is an example of the "wolf com[ing] as a wolf." The Government admitted this.
• As the retaliation scheme is proven, Section 1 can't be severed *now*. It's not government speech, but rather the motive behind a crafted scheme. Also, there is no severability clause in *our* #ExecutiveOrder
• So little due process that we found out about this when Trump signed it on TV.
• The government pointed out that nine other #lawfirms capitulated, thus proving that the harms are not imaginary or speculative.
DOJ Un-Drops Its Appeal Against Law Firms, Files Brief That Gets The First Amendment Exactly Backwards
On Wednesday of last week, I wrote a post about how the Trump administration had quietly given up defending its unconstitutional executive orders targeting law firms. The DOJ was dropping its appea…
So, finally about that 97-page brief that kicks off the appeal. It was filed by political appointees and not the career lawyers who would normally work at this level. (The same appointees who seemed fine with dismissal on last Monday.) That might account for the tone which is more "judges bad" and less "judges make mistakes."
My summary: "My Executive Orders always begin with a declaration of my personal animus behind this retaliation because I am governed by that and not the law. The courts are clearly wrong because you are not the boss of me. I can too revoke security clearances for this reason, because I'm pretty sure you told me so. Also, if I sic the DOJ on specific individuals I hate, that's not retaliation, that's just the DOJ doing law things. And it's unfair for the judges to stop me from kicking these bad, bad law firms out of court rooms and signed contracts because I didn't do that yet — just a written, signed order to do so. And if it helps to rule in my favor, you can ignore the part where I confessed this is all retaliation for political reasons and my hurt feelings."
See https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/70694462/perkins-coie-llp-v-doj/ (2026-03-06)
Regarding the security clearance revocation, we have only the #DOJ brief, but it reads a bit more seriously than the rest. #snark #ExecutiveOrder #LawFirms #PerkinsCoie #JennerBlock #WilmerHale #WilmerCutler #SusmanGodfrey #Trump
④ #SusmanGodfrey LLP v. Executive Office of the President (D.D.C. 25-cv-01107, decided 2025-06-27) https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69881953/susman-godfrey-llp-v-executive-office-of-the-president/
(Concerning Executive Order 14263)
> In April 2025, President Donald J. Trump issued an #ExecutiveOrder targeting the law firm Susman Godfrey LLP (“Susman”) based on the clients it represents and the causes it supports. The order was one in a series attacking firms that had taken positions with which President #Trump disagreed. In the ensuing months, every court to have considered a challenge to one of these orders has found grave constitutional violations and permanently enjoined enforcement of the order in full. .... Today, this court follows suit, concluding that the order targeting Susman violates the U.S. #Constitution and must be permanently enjoined.
....
> The court shares that concern. By its own terms, the Order appears to prevent Susman attorneys from interacting with federal agencies — before whom they currently have a substantial amount of business — and even from entering courthouses. .... Because over a third of Susman’s matters are in federal court or require interaction with the federal government, ..., it is evident that the Order will cause Susman significant financial loss if it goes into effect.
....
> Here, the Order goes beyond violating the Constitution and the laws of the United States. The Order threatens the independence of the bar — a necessity for the rule of law. Accordingly, the court concludes that the balance of the equities and the public interest weigh overwhelmingly in favor of granting the permanent injunction.
— Judge #LorenAliKhan, Docket 206
In other news, #Trump has bullied various #LawFirms into promising millions of dollars of free services and at least four firms said no, and won in Federal District Court.
> Trump’s only Big Law victories so far have come outside the courtroom. Nine top law firms ... reached agreements with Trump to provide at least $940 million worth of pro bono services collectively to avoid executive orders.
Last Tuesday, a day after saying in Appellate Court that they planned to abandon their appeal, Trump's DOJ reversed course.
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/70694462/perkins-coie-llp-v-doj/
> The administration told a court on Monday that it was abandoning its defense of executive orders targeting the firms. But on Tuesday, the Justice Department abruptly changed its position.
> The move amounted to a dizzying turnabout in one of President Trump’s most audacious — and, many legal experts said, unconstitutional — attempts at subduing potentially powerful adversaries. It created new uncertainty in a legal profession already roiled by the orders, after some of the country’s biggest law firms thought they had put to rest a key part of the president’s retribution campaign less than 24 hours before.
So on Friday, the DOJ is back in court with 97 pages in their opening brief in the appeal.
#PerkinsCoie LLP v. #DOJ (25-5241, Court of Appeals, DC Circuit, 2026-03-06 Brief for Appellants, 97 pages)
(consolidating Jenner & Block LLP v. DOJ, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr LLP v. #ExecutiveOfficeOfThePresident, and #SusmanGodfrey LLP v. #EOP )
A United States district judge has ruled that President Donald Trump’s executive order against Houston-based law firm Susman Godfrey is unconstitutional.
#Court #Houston #Local #National #News #Politics #DominionVotingSystems #ExecutiveOrder #HoustonLawFirms #PresidentDonaldTrump #SusmanGodfrey #TrumpAdministration
The order would have directed federal agencies to terminate contracts with the firm. It also would have suspended Susman Godfrey employees from receiving security clearances to government buildings and directed agencies to refrain from hiring employees of the firm.
US District Judge Loren AliKhan said Trump's order unlawfully retaliated against #SusmanGodfrey for cases it has taken & its efforts to promote racial #diversity, violating the firm's rights to #FreeSpeech & #DueProcess of #law under the US #Constitution.
Finally a tiny bit of good news
US #LawFirm #SusmanGodfrey defeats #Trump #ExecutiveOrder
Law firm Susman Godfrey convinced a judge on Friday to permanently block a White House EO against it, capping a string of court victories for #LawFirms targeted for their association with Trump's perceived enemies.
#FreeSpeech #DueProcess #law #Constitution
https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/us-law-firm-susman-godfrey-defeats-trump-executive-order-2025-06-27/
A United States District Judge on Tuesday blocked most of President Donald Trump's executive order targeting Houston-based law firm Susman Godfrey.
#Houston #Local #News #Politics #Texas #HoustonLaw #LawFirms #PresidentDonaldTrump #SusmanGodfrey
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