🚨 Judicial Smackdown! Court Strikes Trump’s Order With Founders’ Fury, "The Founding Fathers Knew This!"
⚖️ Trump’s Legal Losses Mount: Judge Nukes Retaliatory Order Against WilmerHale!
😽 Keepin’ It Simple Summary for Younger Readers
👧🏾✊🏾👦🏾
🔍🇺🇸 Trump tried to punish a law firm for taking cases he didn’t like, but a judge said, “That’s not how America works.” ⚖️ Lawyers have to be free to represent whoever needs help. 🆘 This ruling protects people’s rights and keeps leaders from becoming bullies. 🚫💼
🗝️ Takeaways
⚖️ Trump’s Executive Order against WilmerHale was struck down as unconstitutional.
✍️ Judge Richard Leon, a Bush appointee, delivered a scathing ruling.
📚 Law firms like Paul Weiss caved—WilmerHale didn’t.
🛡️ The decision reinforces judicial independence and the First Amendment.
🔥 Trump continues to lose in court when overreaching.
🔥 "Judge to Trump: No, You Can’t Punish Law Firms!"
A federal judge slaps down Trump’s Executive Order as unconstitutional, defending the rule of law
The scales of justice just slammed down hard on Trump’s latest stunt—this time with an exclamation point. Literally. In a blistering Memorandum Opinion dated May 27, 2025, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon, a George W. Bush appointee no less, struck down an Executive Order by Donald Trump that attempted to punish the law firm WilmerHale for taking on clients and cases disfavored by the former president.
Yes, you read that right—Trump tried to wield the Executive branch like a hammer, targeting law firms who dared to challenge him. But the courts just reminded him that this isn’t a tin-pot dictatorship, and the Constitution still means something.
“The cornerstone of the American system of justice is an independent judiciary and an independent bar willing to tackle unpopular cases, however daunting. The Founding Fathers knew this!” — Judge Richard Leon, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
You can practically hear the gavel drop after that line.
🔍 BACKGROUND: The Trump War on Dissent
In his post-presidency power grab tour, Trump has been going after law firms like a petty tyrant. His Executive Orders—retaliatory in nature—sought to ban or punish prominent legal powerhouses like Perkins Coie, Jenner & Block, and now WilmerHale for representing clients who dared to oppose him or challenge his policies.
This all stems from Trump’s obsession with loyalty and vengeance. Like his public vendettas against journalists, whistleblowers, and career civil servants, Trump has tried to intimidate lawyers who don’t toe the MAGA line. In this case, WilmerHale was targeted for providing legal support in matters that irked Trump’s fragile ego.
According to Above the Law, this move was the third in a series of Executive Orders tossed out by the courts. The first to fall was the one targeting Perkins Coie, then the one against Jenner & Block, and now this—Trump is zero for three. Or as Above the Law editor Joe Patrice snarked:
“Trump is still 0-fer here.”
Ouch.
⚖️ THE COURT’S VERDICT: A Legal Beatdown
Judge Leon didn’t just rule against Trump—he torched the very foundation of the Executive Order with searing constitutional logic.
“This ‘retaliatory action’ is more than ‘sufficient to deter a person of ordinary firmness in [WilmerHale’s] position from speaking again.’ … The Order shouts through a bullhorn: If you take on causes disfavored by President Trump, you will be punished!” — Judge Leon, citing precedent from Aref v. Lynch
Imagine that—weaponizing executive power to silence law firms. What’s next, forcing judges to wear MAGA robes?
Judge Leon called out the chilling effect such an order would have, not just on WilmerHale, but on the entire legal community. In his decision, he noted that other firms like Paul Weiss, Skadden, Arps, Willkie Farr, and Milbank caved to the pressure and negotiated their way out. The message was clear: if you represent the “wrong” people, you’d better watch your back.
But WilmerHale? They stood their ground. And today, they—and the rule of law—won.
🧱 WHY THIS MATTERS TO YOU
This isn’t just about lawyers or Trump. This is about the foundation of democracy: that no one, not even a former president, is above the law. If lawyers can be bullied into submission, what happens to whistleblowers, activists, Indigenous land defenders, asylum seekers, and anyone else who needs legal protection?
What happens when you’re the one who needs a lawyer, but that lawyer’s too scared to take your case?
The ruling in Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP v. Executive Office of the President reaffirms a crucial principle: an independent legal system is non-negotiable in a democracy. We’re not living under a monarch, and presidents don’t get to dictate who receives legal representation.
“To rule otherwise would be unfaithful to the judgment and vision of the Founding Fathers!” — Judge Leon
This quote could’ve been pulled from Hamilton: The Musical, but it’s real, it’s in the ruling, and it’s a shot across the bow of authoritarianism.
🧊 COURAGE VS. COWARDICE
Some of the nation’s top law firms bowed to Trump. According to the court documents, Paul Weiss quietly struck a deal to revoke the Executive Order targeting them, calling it “an unprecedented threat to the firm.” Others, like Skadden and Milbank, followed suit.
Meanwhile, WilmerHale said, hell no. They fought, and their resistance sets a precedent. Not only is the Trump Order now null and void, but the court decision may serve as a bulwark against future abuse of power.
“Other firms facing similar Executive Orders have capitulated to President Trump.” — Memorandum Opinion
Capitulated. That word will haunt the halls of those firms for years.
✊ A VICTORY FOR THE PEOPLE
Let’s not kid ourselves. The Trump movement isn’t going away. Its tactics are becoming more fascistic by the day. But every time we see the courts step up, we’re reminded that institutions can still hold the line, when we push them to.
This victory demonstrates that power, when unchecked, can be reined in. But only when people fight back. Only when resistance doesn’t flinch.
We don’t win by staying silent. We win by refusing to comply with unjust orders.
🌅 A NOTE OF HOPE
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed in times like these. But rulings like this one give us a sliver of sunlight through the storm. They remind us that the struggle isn’t in vain. There are still judges, lawyers, and communities willing to fight back. We just have to keep the pressure on.
How to Get Involved:
📬 Subscribe to Three Sonorans on Substack to stay informed about this type of grassroots legal reporting.
🧠 Learn about your constitutional rights and support organizations that defend them.
🗣️ Share this article and talk to your friends and family about what’s really happening.
What Do You Think?
Should law firms be punished for representing unpopular clients?
What does this ruling mean for the future of Executive power?
Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
Until next time,
Three Sonorans
Have a scoop or a story you want us to follow up on? Send us a message!
Important victories! However, the Extreme Court has not yet weighed in on these cases.
Remember also that our Dictator may simply decide that HE is "the law." The earlier he is confronted, the better, but the more various law firms, universities, and (of course) the spineless eunuchs in the House and Senate let him have his way, the harder it will become to stop him.