(CNN) 鈥� Speaking at a charity gala dinner Thursday night in Los Angeles, former second gentleman Doug Emhoff condemned the decision by his law firm to with the Trump administration to avoid an executive order targeting the firm, sources tell CNN.
Emhoff is a partner at Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, which this week agreed to a deal with President Donald Trump, which the president said includes the firm providing at least $100 million in pro bono legal services throughout his second term.
It鈥檚 the third example of a cutting a deal with the White House as Trump has targeted firms that have done work with his perceived political enemies.
Emhoff told the crowd at the he had told the firm he wanted to fight the threat of an executive order he found unconstitutional but had been overruled, the sources said.
On Tuesday, Trump announced on Truth Social he had come to an agreement with the firm. The agreement, Trump stated, also means the firm 鈥渨ill not engage in illegal DEI discrimination and preferences鈥� and 鈥渨ill not deny representation to clients 鈥� because of the personal political views of individual lawyers.鈥�
The chair of the firm, Thomas M. Cerabino, said that the agreement was 鈥渃onsistent with our Firm鈥檚 views on access to Legal representation by clients, including pro bono clients, our commitment to complying with the Law as it relates to our employment practices, and our history of working with clients across a wide spectrum of political viewpoints.鈥� He added that Willkie 鈥渓ooks forward to having a constructive relationship with the Trump Administration.鈥�
Willkie鈥檚 pro bono work in recent years has been especially attention-grabbing because it included a defamation win against Rudy Giuliani following his work for Trump after the 2020 election.
Willkie had provided representation to two Georgia poll workers who a jury ruled had been defamed by Rudy Giuliani, Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, awarded a $148 million defamation verdict.
CORRECTION: The date of the event where Doug Emhoff spoke has been updated. It was Thursday night.
The-CNN-Wire
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