{"id":145372,"date":"2026-03-04T16:08:02","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T00:08:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/03\/04\/democrats-to-kirkland-ellis-for-the-fourth-time-what-exactly-did-you-promise-trump\/"},"modified":"2026-03-04T16:08:02","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T00:08:02","slug":"democrats-to-kirkland-ellis-for-the-fourth-time-what-exactly-did-you-promise-trump","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/03\/04\/democrats-to-kirkland-ellis-for-the-fourth-time-what-exactly-did-you-promise-trump\/","title":{"rendered":"Democrats To Kirkland & Ellis: For The Fourth Time, What Exactly Did You Promise Trump?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Like that old saying, if at first you don\u2019t succeed, try, try again<\/em>, Democrats in Congress are taking a *fourth* shot at trying to get Kirkland & Ellis to be upfront about the firm\u2019s deal with Donald Trump. At this point, it\u2019s almost a tradition. Democrats ask questions. Kirkland & Ellis sends back a politely worded shrug. Repeat.<\/p>\n

Now Richard Blumenthal, ranking member of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, Jamie Raskin, ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, and Adam Schiff are trying again \u2014 fourth time\u2019s the charm! \u2014 to get the world\u2019s richest law firm, Kirkland & Ellis, to explain exactly what it promised the Trump administration in order to avoid one of those retaliatory executive orders <\/a>targeting Biglaw.<\/p>\n

And this time, they sound done playing nice. \u201cWe have written to your firm three times previously seeking documents and answers regarding this corrupt bargain, and Kirkland has provided no responsive information or records in response to any of these letters,\u201d the March 2, 2026 letter reads<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As readers will recall, the Trump administration rolled out a series of executive orders threatening law firms that represented political adversaries or maintained diversity initiatives the White House didn\u2019t like. Some firms fought. They won. The orders were struck down as unconstitutional.<\/a><\/p>\n

Others? They made deals.<\/p>\n

Kirkland was one of nine firms<\/a> that opted for the \u201clet\u2019s just make this go away\u201d approach rather than litigate. Along with firms like Paul, Weiss, Kirkland entered into an agreement<\/a> that allegedly resolved an EEOC investigation while committing to certain pro bono work <\/a>that just so happened to align with administration priorities.<\/p>\n

Kirkland\u2019s first response<\/a> to Congress, dated April 28, 2025, framed the deal as consistent with its \u201cmeritocratic ideals\u201d and described the EEOC matter as resolved. Its second letter, dated October 7, 2025, insisted the firm was \u201ccomfortable that the agreement does not run afoul of the issues that you raise in your letter.\u201d<\/p>\n

Comfortable! That\u2019s nice. Here\u2019s the problem: in that October response, Kirkland acknowledged it was performing legal work<\/a> \u2014 for multiple government agencies \u2014 for free. And that\u2019s something lawmakers now characterize as \u201cstartling.\u201d<\/p>\n

If this saga needed more intrigue, the latest letter raises concerns about contacts with Boris Epshteyn, described in the letter as \u201ca former Trump administration official, legal fixer and a Trump co-conspirator to overturn the 2020 presidential election.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lawmakers are particularly interested in any communications or negotiations involving Epshteyn, who has reportedly been linked to alleged pay-to-play schemes involving political appointments.<\/p>\n

The Dems are out there making allusions to bribery and that demonstrates just how thin their patience is.<\/p>\n

The frustration is palpable, \u201cThe time for short, nonresponsive replies\u2014assuring us that Kirkland knows best and feels comfortable about its arrangements with the Trump administration\u2014is over.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s about as close as congressional correspondence gets to \u201cwe are not amused.\u201d Ball\u2019s back in Kirkland\u2019s court \u2014 let\u2019s see how they read the room.<\/p>\n

\n

\"\"Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast<\/a>, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer<\/a>. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her<\/a> with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1<\/a>\u00a0or Mastodon @Kathryn1@mastodon.social.<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The post Democrats To Kirkland & Ellis: For The Fourth Time, What Exactly Did You Promise Trump?<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t(photo by David Lat).\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Like that old saying, if at first you don\u2019t succeed, try, try again<\/em>, Democrats in Congress are taking a *fourth* shot at trying to get Kirkland & Ellis to be upfront about the firm\u2019s deal with Donald Trump. At this point, it\u2019s almost a tradition. Democrats ask questions. Kirkland & Ellis sends back a politely worded shrug. Repeat.<\/p>\n

Now Richard Blumenthal, ranking member of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, Jamie Raskin, ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, and Adam Schiff are trying again \u2014 fourth time\u2019s the charm! \u2014 to get the world\u2019s richest law firm, Kirkland & Ellis, to explain exactly what it promised the Trump administration in order to avoid one of those retaliatory executive orders <\/a>targeting Biglaw.<\/p>\n

And this time, they sound done playing nice. \u201cWe have written to your firm three times previously seeking documents and answers regarding this corrupt bargain, and Kirkland has provided no responsive information or records in response to any of these letters,\u201d the March 2, 2026 letter reads<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As readers will recall, the Trump administration rolled out a series of executive orders threatening law firms that represented political adversaries or maintained diversity initiatives the White House didn\u2019t like. Some firms fought. They won. The orders were struck down as unconstitutional.<\/a><\/p>\n

Others? They made deals.<\/p>\n

Kirkland was one of nine firms<\/a> that opted for the \u201clet\u2019s just make this go away\u201d approach rather than litigate. Along with firms like Paul, Weiss, Kirkland entered into an agreement<\/a> that allegedly resolved an EEOC investigation while committing to certain pro bono work <\/a>that just so happened to align with administration priorities.<\/p>\n

Kirkland\u2019s first response<\/a> to Congress, dated April 28, 2025, framed the deal as consistent with its \u201cmeritocratic ideals\u201d and described the EEOC matter as resolved. Its second letter, dated October 7, 2025, insisted the firm was \u201ccomfortable that the agreement does not run afoul of the issues that you raise in your letter.\u201d<\/p>\n

Comfortable! That\u2019s nice. Here\u2019s the problem: in that October response, Kirkland acknowledged it was performing legal work<\/a> \u2014 for multiple government agencies \u2014 for free. And that\u2019s something lawmakers now characterize as \u201cstartling.\u201d<\/p>\n

If this saga needed more intrigue, the latest letter raises concerns about contacts with Boris Epshteyn, described in the letter as \u201ca former Trump administration official, legal fixer and a Trump co-conspirator to overturn the 2020 presidential election.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lawmakers are particularly interested in any communications or negotiations involving Epshteyn, who has reportedly been linked to alleged pay-to-play schemes involving political appointments.<\/p>\n

The Dems are out there making allusions to bribery and that demonstrates just how thin their patience is.<\/p>\n

The frustration is palpable, \u201cThe time for short, nonresponsive replies\u2014assuring us that Kirkland knows best and feels comfortable about its arrangements with the Trump administration\u2014is over.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s about as close as congressional correspondence gets to \u201cwe are not amused.\u201d Ball\u2019s back in Kirkland\u2019s court \u2014 let\u2019s see how they read the room.<\/p>\n

\n

\"\"Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast<\/a>, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer<\/a>. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her<\/a> with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1<\/a>\u00a0or Mastodon @[email\u00a0protected].<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Like that old saying, if at first you don\u2019t succeed, try, try again, Democrats in Congress are taking a *fourth* shot at trying to get Kirkland & Ellis to be upfront about the firm\u2019s deal with Donald Trump. At this point, it\u2019s almost a tradition. Democrats ask questions. Kirkland & Ellis sends back a politely […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":145373,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-145372","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-above_the_law"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xira.com\/p\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/IMG_5243-1-scaled-e1623338814705-620x568-SkxAkY.jpg?fit=620%2C568&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145372","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=145372"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145372\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/145373"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=145372"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=145372"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=145372"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}