The U.S. Department of Justice has served subpoenas on 14 prominent law firms, seeking detailed documents and depositions tied to White House executive orders and related communications, according to copies of the subpoenas filed in federal court in Washington on Friday.
The subpoenas request records of the firms' communications about the executive orders and specifically seek any communications with Boris Epshteyn, who is identified in the filings as a longtime adviser to President Donald Trump, dating from the start of the president's second term. The Justice Department is also looking for any exchanges the firms may have had with the American Bar Association concerning Epshteyn.
It is not immediately clear from the filings whether the targeted firms will seek to challenge the subpoenas in court.
The Justice Department disclosed the subpoenas in the context of a lawsuit brought last year by the American Bar Association. In that complaint, the ABA asserts that its members have been harmed by what it describes as an unlawful policy by the Trump administration to punish law firms over their past legal work, diversity policies and political ties.
In its recent filing, the Justice Department urged U.S. District Judge Amir Ali to reject an ABA demand that the government produce similar information about the White House executive orders affecting law firms. The DOJ told the court that the ABA should "seek this information from its own members, or the law firms at issue, rather than going directly to the White House."
The filing further states that the subpoenas the DOJ issued to the law firms are intended to "obtain the documents that Plaintiff has requested."
Requests for comment sent to spokespeople for the ABA and the Justice Department received no immediate response. A White House spokesperson had no immediate comment, and representatives for the law firms named in the subpoenas likewise did not immediately respond to inquiries.
The ABA's litigation has intensified scrutiny of the administration's efforts directed at prominent law firms and may complicate matters for firms that previously reached agreements with the White House to avoid the practical effects of the executive orders. The dispute over evidence and disclosures could place such firms in a difficult position as the parties litigate scope and relevance.
Four law firms that were targeted by the executive orders filed suit against the administration last year and secured court orders permanently blocking the orders as they applied to them. The government has appealed that outcome; the appeal is pending before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which heard oral arguments in May.
Note: This article reports on the filings and claims made in the court documents and reflects information contained in those filings.