Kirkland & Ellis

What they did. Kirkland agreed in 2025 to provide $125 million in pro bono work to administration-favored causes to avoid a punitive executive order. The firm is reported to be doing free work for the Commerce Department beyond the deal’s stated scope. Democrats are probing whether Trump personal attorney Boris Epshteyn brokered the arrangement. The firm has produced no documents and declined staff meetings, asserting privilege.

What Democrats have said and done. Rep. Raskin and Sen. Blumenthal wrote the deal firms in April 2025 “after Trump coerces Big Law firms into submission as part of assault on the rule of law.” [House Judiciary Democrats] Blumenthal, Raskin and Schiff wrote Kirkland, Paul Weiss and Skadden on Sept. 24, 2025 about the Commerce work and possible Antideficiency Act issues. [Blumenthal press release] [Letter] On March 2, 2026 they wrote again on Epshteyn’s “role in brokering deals between Kirkland & Ellis and Trump.” [Schiff press release] [Letter] On Oct. 15, 2026 they accused Kirkland of stonewalling and vowed to pursue the matter “in this Congress and the next.” [Bloomberg Law]

Why it intensifies. Kirkland is the one firm Democrats have named as non-cooperative, and Raskin, who would chair Judiciary, has made Big Law’s deals a signature issue. Law.com reported in July 2026 that the deals “may face more lawmaker pressure after midterms.” [Law.com] Refusal to answer minority letters is the most reliable predictor of an early majority subpoena. The firms say the pro bono work is lawful and nonpartisan.

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