Note: Briefs also filed in Jenner & Block LLP v. U.S. Dept. of Justice and Wilmer Hale LLP v. Executive Office of the President on April 11.
The New England First Amendment Coalition and 60 press freedom advocates urged a federal court today to strike down an executive order that imposed sanctions on the Perkins Coie law firm.
The law firm represented President Donald Trump’s political opponents and enforced the Voting Rights Act. The president’s executive orders targeting lawyers with clients opposed to his agenda would severely restrict press organizations’ access to legal counsel, particularly for outlets relying on pro bono or reduced-fee representation, argued NEFAC and fellow advocates in an April 9 amicus brief.
“The President seeks the simultaneous power to wield the legal system against those who oppose his policies or reveal his administration’s unlawful or unethical acts — who, in many cases, have been members of the press — and then deny them access to the system built to defend their rights,” according to the brief.
The Intercept’s Press Freedom Defense Fund and Freedom of the Press Foundation coordinated the brief which was drafted by Albert Sellars LLP.
NEFAC and fellow amici argued in the brief that the press plays an essential role as both a proxy for the public and a check on government power, which requires an oppositional relationship with government interests. The president’s executive orders targeting lawyers with clients opposed to his agenda would severely restrict press organizations’ access to legal counsel, particularly for outlets relying on pro bono or reduced-fee representation.
NEFAC is the region’s leading defender of First Amendment freedoms and the public’s right to know about government. Learn more about the coalition’s advocacy here.
NEFAC was formed in 2006 to advance and protect the Five Freedoms of the First Amendment, including the principle of the public’s right to know. We’re a broad-based organization of people who believe in the power of an informed democratic society. Our members include lawyers, journalists, historians, academics and private citizens.
Our coalition is funded through contributions made by those who value the First Amendment and who strive to keep government accountable. Please make a donation here.
NEFAC is supported by the Estate of Gloria L. Negri. Additional funding is provided by Leadership Circle donors including the Rhode Island Foundation, The Boston Globe, Paul and Ann Sagan, and the Robertson Foundation. Major Supporters of NEFAC’s work are Hearst Connecticut Media Group, Boston University, the Academy of New England Journalists, Northeastern University and WCVB-Boston.NEFA