Obama slams Big Law attorneys who won't fight Trump because they want to 'finish that kitchen rehab' at their Hamptons homes

• Former President Barack Obama took purpose astatine Big Law firms that person tried to enactment with President Donald Trump.

• He said immoderate firms capitulated to support their attorneys' careers and lavish lifestyles.

• Some firms person struck deals with Trump and promised to bash pro bono ineligible enactment for blimpish causes.

Former President Barack Obama ripped Big Law firms for caving to the Trump medication conscionable to support their careers and money their lavish lifestyles.

Obama was speaking astatine a backstage fundraiser successful New Jersey connected Friday erstwhile helium expressed disappointment astatine however immoderate of the country's apical instrumentality firms had "set speech the law" successful the look of President Donald Trump's attacks.

Obama said immoderate lawyers were giving mode to Trump not due to the fact that they were "going to beryllium thrown successful jail, but due to the fact that they mightiness suffer a fewer clients and mightiness not beryllium capable to decorativeness that room rehab astatine their Hampton house."

"I'm not impressed," Obama said, per remarks obtained by MSNBC.

Obama's ties to Big Law spell backmost to his Harvard Law School days. After his archetypal twelvemonth of instrumentality school, the erstwhile president worked arsenic a summertime subordinate astatine Sidley & Austin.

Before entering politics, Obama worked arsenic a civilian rights lawyer astatine the litigation steadfast Miner, Barnhill & Galland.

Since February, Trump has issued enforcement orders targeting Big Law firms similar Paul Weiss, Perkins Coie, and Covington & Burling. In his orders, Trump accused the firms of weaponizing the judicial strategy and stripped them of their information clearances. He besides ordered reviews of each firm's contracts with the government.

Some instrumentality firms, specified arsenic Paul Weiss and Kirkland & Ellis, struck deals with Trump and promised to bash pro bono ineligible enactment for blimpish causes. Others, similar Perkins Coie and WilmerHale, chose to combat backmost and filed lawsuits against the Trump administration.

In his remarks, Obama took purpose astatine universities that chose to find country for compromise with Trump.

Obama's alma mater, Columbia University, gave successful to the administration's demands aft it slashed $400 cardinal successful national funding. The Trump medication said the cuts were due to the fact that of the university's nonaccomplishment to combat anti-semitism erstwhile protests implicit Israel's warfare successful Gaza erupted connected campus.

"If your halfway mission, if your halfway worth is to teach, you whitethorn thatch without compromising values of world independence. Yeah, you whitethorn suffer immoderate assistance wealth temporarily. That's wherefore you person those large endowments," Obama said connected Friday.

Obama has continued to beryllium a vocal professional of Trump and his administration.

Last month, Obama told attendees astatine The Connecticut Forum connected June 17 that the US was connected the verge of becoming an autocracy nether Trump.

"We're not determination yet completely, but I deliberation that we are dangerously adjacent to normalizing behaviour similar that," Obama said.

Representatives for Obama did not respond to requests for remark from Business Insider.

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