☕ Trump's law firm memo

Good morning!

We’ll be watching for the implications of a visit to Greenland by a US delegation including second lady Usha Vance and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, which Greenland’s PM Mute Egede called a “highly aggressive” move after President Trump promised to annex the Danish territory.

Egede is in an interesting position - he lost the parliamentary earlier this month, and is only in the top job until a new coalition can form.

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Some headlines from this morning:

• The death toll in Gaza from ongoing Israeli attacks has surpassed 50,000, according to data cited by the United Nations. This death toll counts from 7 October 2023, when the terrorist organisation Hamas launched attacks on Israel, killing nearly 1,200 people. The recent rise in the death toll comes as Israel last week launched its largest attacks in the Gaza Strip since phase one of a ceasefire deal took hold in January.

• Canadian PM Mark Carney has announced a national election for April 28. While Carney has only held the office for a number of weeks, his party has had recent success in polls against the opposition Conservative Party, led by Pierre Polieve. Earlier this year, Carney’s Liberals trailed by more than twenty percentage points, but have recently recovered due to Justin Tredeau’s resignation as PM, and Polieve mirroring the political playbook of President Donald Trump. The White House has threatened to impose strict tariffs on Canada since Trump’s arrival in office, but have delayed their implementation. Carney asked Canadians to give him a “positive mandate” to rebuild Canada’s economy and “deal with” President Trump.

• Pope Francis has made his first public appearance since being hospitalized more than a month ago, greeting crowds from the balcony of his hospital room. His Holiness appeared frail and visibly weakened when he briefly thanked the crowd for their prayers, before being discharged from hospital. Vatican doctors said the respiratory complications caused by double pneumonia in the Pope’s lungs twice threatened to take his life over the period he was in hospital. Pope Francis will spend the next two months recovering in a church-owned guest house, Casa Santa Marta.

• President Trump has rescinded the security clearances of Kamala Harris, Hilary Clinton and other political rivals. Former President Joe Biden and his family also officially had their security clearances revoked, a move promised by Trump earlier this year. The executive order reasoned that it was “no longer in the national interest” for the political figures to hold a security clearance. Other notable revocations involved Liz Chaney and Adam Kinzinger, who are two of the Republicans who pushed back against the President in his first term, as well as top Biden-era officials like Anthony Blinken, the former Secretary of State.

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Denmark, the United Kingdom, Germany, Finland and Canada have all changed their travel advice for citizens traveling to the US. 

The countries have warned citizens to adhere strictly to US entry rules or risk detention. It comes after reports of multiple European and Canadian citizens being detained and deported by US immigration officials in recent weeks.

Recent events

Fabian Schmidt, a 34-year-old German citizen with US permanent residency, is currently detained in New Hampshire after returning from Luxembourg. His mother alleges he was “violently interrogated”, stripped, and thrown in a cold shower.

The family also alleges he was denied access to his depression and anxiety medication. Customs and Border Protection officials said these claims were “blatantly false”, but did not provide specifics.

Another part of the statement referred to US policy on denying entry to those who breach visa conditions, referring to a 2015 marijuana misdemeanor previously unknown to US authorities.

Two German tourists were also arrested but have since returned home. One was allegedly held for six weeks, including two weeks in solitary confinement, which officials deny.

The three arrests have sparked a German probe into whether these are isolated incidents or part of a broader US immigration shift.

A Canadian actor reported inhumane conditions during two weeks of detention over an incomplete visa, while a UK citizen was also detained.

Travel advice

The countries now advise extra care in ensuring accurate details in all visa applications and entry documents.

Germany’s advice now explicitly states "A criminal conviction in the United States, false information regarding the purpose of stay, or even a slight overstay of the visa upon entry or exit can lead to arrest, detention, and deportation upon entry or exit".

Germany, Finland, and Denmark have also advised transgender and non-binary citizens to contact the US embassy before traveling. A Trump executive order mandates official documents recognize only two genders, male and female.

It is unclear if US immigration will deny citizens from other countries entry if the gender reflected on their passport is not that which was assigned at birth, or if they will accept the “X” designation that signifies binary gender identification.

Has U.S. immigration responded?

Whether the crackdown is the result of a formal policy change directed by the Trump administration is unclear. US immigration authorities responded to NPR questions saying: "Prohibiting travel into the United States by those who might pose a threat or violate conditions of their visa is key to protecting the American people."

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President Trump has continued to seek restrictions on the activities of prominent law firms that have previously represented his opponents in civil or criminal cases.

A memo sent on Friday directed Attorney-General Pam Bondi to “seek sanctions against attorneys and law firms who engage in frivolous, unreasonable and vexatious litigation against the United States.”

Trump also instructed a review of the conduct of every law firm that has taken legal action against the government over the past eight years, which would include Joe Biden’s presidency, as well as Trump’s first term.

It comes after a prominent law firm agreed last week to provide $40m in free legal services to the Trump Administration in exchange for the reversal of an executive order that placed sanctions on the firm.

How did we get here?

In his first weeks in office, President Trump issued an executive order withdrawing the security clearances of employees at law firms who assisted Former Special Counsel Jack Smith, who had investigated now-withdrawn criminal allegations brought against President Trump.

This means government contracts were no longer available to these firms.

Earlier this month, major international law firms Paul Weiss, Perkins Coie and Covington & Burling were the subject of an executive order which terminated federal contracts with the firms and withdrew security clearances.

President Trump partially cited Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives as reason for the order.

Paul Weiss has now reached an agreement to provide free legal services to the administration, in exchange for its exclusion from the order.

Speaking to the Wall St Journal, Paul Weiss Chairman Brad Karp said the firm would “not be able to survive a protracted dispute with the Administration”, and a number of clients had flagged they would have to find another firm to represent them.

The new memo

The latest memo directs Attorney General Pam Bondi to pursue lawyers for ethics violations and similar sanctions as issued earlier this month if the cases they bring on behalf of their client are “meritless or not backed up by fact.

The memo also specifies taking action against law firm partners for any misconduct of junior lawyers, including over the eight years.

President Trump also took aim at those bringing immigration claims, directing Bondi to investigate lawyers who facilitate "rampant fraud and meritless claims".

Legal community response

Law firms have largely stayed silent, with all 30 top US firms declining an opportunity to comment to Reuters.

Critics say Trump’s actions aim to chill legal challenges against his administration. ACLU lawyer Ben Weiss stressed that courts can’t check executive power without lawyers.

The White House said Trump is ensuring the judicial system can not be “weaponized” against Americans.