Democrats press Kirkland again on law firm's deal with Trump
By David Thomas Oct 16 (Reuters) — A trio of Democratic US lawmakers lodged a new request for Kirkland & Ellis to turn over records related to a deal the law firm made with Republican President Donald Trump last year, vowing to press their demands into the next congressional term. Senators Richard Blumenthal and Adam Schiff and Representative Jamie Raskin said in a letter sent to Kirkland chairman Jon Ballis on Thursday that the firm used "legally specious claims of privilege" to avoid producing documents or answering earlier questions from Democratic staff at the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations and the House Judiciary Committee. "Notwithstanding Kirkland’s lack of cooperation, we will use every tool at our disposal to pursue this investigation—in this Congress and the next," the lawmakers wrote. Raskin and Blumenthal are ranking members of the House committee and Senate subcommittee. Democrats are hoping to retake both chambers of Congress following next month's midterm elections, which would give party lawmakers more leverage to compel cooperation with congressional investigations. A spokesperson for Kirkland did not immediately respond to a request for comment. K
By David Thomas Oct 16 (Reuters) — A trio of Democratic US lawmakers lodged a new request for Kirkland & Ellis to turn over records related to a deal the law firm made with Republican President Donald Trump last year, vowing to press their demands into the next congressional term. Senators Richard Blumenthal and Adam Schiff and Representative Jamie Raskin said in a letter sent to Kirkland chairman Jon Ballis on Thursday that the firm used "legally specious claims of privilege" to avoid producing documents or answering earlier questions from Democratic staff at the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations and the House Judiciary Committee.
"Notwithstanding Kirkland’s lack of cooperation, we will use every tool at our disposal to pursue this investigation—in this Congress and the next," the lawmakers wrote. Raskin and Blumenthal are ranking members of the House committee and Senate subcommittee. Democrats are hoping to retake both chambers of Congress following next month's midterm elections, which would give party lawmakers more leverage to compel cooperation with congressional investigations. A spokesperson for Kirkland did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Kirkland was one of nine major law firms that pledged last year to contribute a combined $940 million in pro bono work to causes supported by Trump, in order to head off a White House crackdown on firms that the president had accused of racial discrimination and acting against the country's interests. Thursday's letter was the latest in the series of requests by the three Democrats for details related to the law firm agreements. It reiterated the lawmakers' demands that Kirkland disclose its contacts with Trump's personal lawyer Boris Epshteyn and its reported work for the US Commerce Department, among other requests.
The letter said Kirkland improperly asserted in a May response to congressional staff that the information being sought was shielded by attorney-client privilege and White House executive privilege. "Thus far, Kirkland has failed to cooperate with our investigation by refusing to provide relevant documents, refusing to meet with congressional investigators, and making baseless claims of privilege that do not withstand scrutiny," it said. (Reporting by David Thomas)