Trump Targets Robert Mueller’s Former Law Firm in Executive Order
White House singles out WilmerHale as it ramps up campaign against law firms
Updated March 27, 2025
WASHINGTON—President Trump on Thursday targeted another major law firm with an executive order, going after WilmerHale over its ties to former special counsel Robert Mueller.
It is the latest in a wave of moves against elite law firms connected to individuals perceived as political enemies by the president. Trump’s order directs government agencies to remove the firm’s government security clearances, restrict its access to federal buildings and strip government contracts from companies it represents.
The order singles out WilmerHale’s ties to Mueller, who worked at Hale and Dorr from 1993 to 1995, before it merged to create the present firm. He later rejoined in 2014 as a partner before his appointment as special counsel in 2017, during Trump’s first term, to investigate any possible ties between Russia and the president and his campaign. That investigation infuriated Trump, who called it a witch hunt.
“Mueller’s investigation epitomizes the weaponization of government,” the executive order said.
In a statement, WilmerHale said it has a “longstanding tradition of representing a wide range of clients, including in matters against administrations of both parties” and that it looked forward to “pursuing all appropriate remedies to this unlawful order.”
Of Mueller, the firm said he had retired in 2021 and “had a long, distinguished career in public service, from his time as a Marine Corps officer in Vietnam to his leadership of the FBI in the aftermath of the September 11th terrorist attacks.”
Wilmer had lobbied to avoid an executive order in recent days, but the order was drafted by last week and Trump has long resented Mueller, administration officials said. Robert Kimmitt, a top Wilmer lawyer, had worked connections in Trump’s orbit on the issue, the people said.
The firm had hoped to leverage ties to the Trump administration, including its help vetting top officials and preparing some for their confirmation hearings.
The White House has built a list with more than a dozen firms it might target, and several have been scrambling to avoid being next. One of them, Skadden, is in talks with the administration to reach a deal to avoid the kinds of sanctions imposed on others, according to people familiar with the discussions.
Earlier this week, Trump ally Elon Musk criticized the firm for working on a defamation lawsuit against right-wing commentator Dinesh D’Souza over his involvement with a film that made baseless claims about theft of the 2020 election. When D’Souza in a social-media post complained that Skadden had an army of lawyers working pro bono against him, Musk reposted it with the comment, “Skadden, this needs to stop now.”
Skadden didn’t respond to a request for comment. The New York Times earlier reported the discussions.
Skadden associate Rachel Cohen recently resigned after she tried to organize efforts to ask firm leaders to push back against the Trump administration’s attacks on the legal industry.Your browser does not support HTML5 video.
In his previous orders, Trump declared firms to be national security risks because of their past legal work for political or legal rivals. Similar measures were levied against Jenner & Block, Paul Weiss, and Perkins Coie, while a more narrow one was issued against Covington & Burling.
The Trump administration rescinded the order against Paul Weiss, after the firm agreed to take on $40 million in pro bono work for the administration, among other concessions.
Trump has said law firms have used the courts to stymie the administration’s policies.
Perkins is the only firm so far to sue to stop the order. A federal judge in Washington blocked portions of the order from taking effect, ruling it was likely unconstitutional, and warning that the president’s actions would create a chill throughout the legal industry.
Mueller returned to WilmerHale in 2019 to fanfare. “We couldn’t be happier to have Bob, our extraordinary friend and colleague, return to WilmerHale,” the 2019 announcement read. It is no longer on the firm’s website.
References to Mueller were also scrubbed from the bios of others at WilmerHale who had served on his special counsel team, according to a review of current and archived webpages on the firm’s site.
Write to Erin Mulvaney at erin.mulvaney@wsj.com, C. Ryan Barber at ryan.barber@wsj.com and Josh Dawsey at Joshua.Dawsey@WSJ.com
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Appeared in the January 1, 1, print edition as 'Trump Targets Law Firm WilmerHale'.