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Law Firms

Jenner & Block’s rehiring of lead Mueller prosecutor cited in executive order targeting firm

By Debra Cassens Weiss

March 26, 2025, 9:16 am CDT

Jenner & Block has become the fourth BigLaw firm targeted by President Donald Trump in a punitive executive order.

The March 25 order calls for suspension of security clearances held by people at Jenner & Block, limits access to government buildings by Jenner & Block employees, seeks termination of its clients’ government contracts, and bars the federal government from hiring Jenner & Block employees absent a waiver.

Jenner & Block “is yet another law firm that has abandoned the profession’s highest ideals, condoned partisan ‘lawfare’ and abused its pro bono practice to engage in activities that undermine justice and the interests of the United States,” the order declares.

The order criticizes the firm’s diversity practices, its representation in cases involving transgender and immigration issues, and its rehiring of the lead prosecutor working with former special counsel Robert Mueller.

A Jenner & Block spokesperson provided this statement to the ABA Journal: “Jenner & Block has had a long history representing clients, paid and pro bono, in their most difficult matters since 1914. Today, we have been named in an executive order similar to one which has already been declared unconstitutional by a federal court. We remain focused on serving and safeguarding our clients’ interests with the dedication, integrity and expertise that has defined our firm for more than 100 years and will pursue all appropriate remedies.”

Publications with coverage of the order include Law.com (here and here) and Reuters.

The order criticizes Jenner & Block’s April 2020 rehiring of Andrew Weissmann. He is the former lead prosecutor for what the order calls the “entirely unjustified” investigation by Mueller, who examined coordination between the Russian government and the Trump campaign.

Weissmann left Jenner & Block in 2021 and is currently listed as a professor at the New York University School of Law.

Mueller’s investigation found that Trump did not collude with the Russian government to interfere with the 2016 election and found insufficient evidence to establish that Trump obstructed the special counsel probe.

The order also said Jenner & Block “engages in obvious partisan representations to achieve political ends.” The order appeared to criticize the firm’s involvement in lawsuits against the administration seeking to restore funding for gender-affirming medical care and seeking to allow immigrants to remain in the United States while asylum claims are pending.

Jenner & Block is also accused in the order of using race-based targets in a way that discriminates against its employees.

Three other firms previously targeted in Trump’s executive orders are Covington & Burling; Perkins Coie; and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison.

Perkins Coie responded with a suit, while Paul Weiss reached an agreement with Trump that led to lifting of the order. The agreement requires Paul Weiss to dedicate $40 million in pro bono legal services to support Trump administration initiatives, including projects that include veterans assistance, fairness in the justice system and a presidential task force on antisemitism.

A federal judge who entered a temporary restraining order in the Perkins Coie challenge said the firm was likely to succeed on its First Amendment and due process claims.

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Judiciary

Prosecutor who sent nude photos to federal judge ‘felt trapped,’ thought she had no choice, cited letter says

By Debra Cassens Weiss

December 11, 2024, 2:57 pm CST

An assistant U.S. attorney in Alaska said she felt “completely powerless” when then-U.S. District Judge Joshua M. Kindred of the District of Alaska asked for nude photos around the same time that he allegedly texted her about holding grudges and his power to help her win a nomination to the federal bench, according to documents unsealed Monday.

The assistant U.S. attorney’s allegations were revealed after Senior U.S. District Judge Marco A. Hernández of the District of Oregon unsealed his September order granting a new trial to a cyberstalking defendant. Kindred presided in the case, and the assistant U.S. attorney described as “AUSA 1” had some prosecution involvement.

“The specific, unusual and highly troubling facts of Judge Kindred’s interactions and relationship with AUSA 1 give rise to at least the appearance of impropriety,” Hernández wrote when he granted the new trial.

Hernández also unsealed a defense brief that cited the prosecutor’s August letter detailing her relationship with Kindred. The brief does not indicate the recipient of the letter but says it appears to be in response to Kindred’s July resignation and the filing of motions by the defense counsel.

Reuters and Law360 have coverage, while the Volokh Conspiracy published part of the opinion.

Kindred abruptly resigned from the federal bench in July after he was referred to the U.S. Judicial Conference for possible impeachment. The judicial council of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at San Francisco had requested the resignation after concluding that Kindred created a hostile work environment for his law clerks and had a “sexualized relationship” with one of them.

The May judicial council report also mentioned the federal prosecutor who sent nude photos to the judge.

A defense motion for a new trial in the cyberstalking case included information said to have been in the letter from “AUSA 1.” The redacted letter was disclosed to the defense by a federal prosecutor tapped to review Kindred’s cases and whether recusal might have been required.

Before she sent the photos, “AUSA 1” said, Kindred sent texts saying he found her attractive, and he had recommended her for a federal judgeship. Shortly before that, Kindred allegedly texted “AUSA 1” about anger issues and holding grudges.

Her letter said she felt pressured to send the photos, according to the defense motion.

“I felt trapped and believed I had no choice,” she wrote. She thought that she “had no other option because he has the power to ruin not only my career but my personal life, as well.”

The prosecutor made the accusations after saying in an earlier letter that her relationship with Kindred was purely professional, according to Hernández’s order.

The cyberstalking defendant was tried and convicted a second time last month, according to a Dec. 6 press release.