On October 23, 2025, the Knight Institute filed a FOIA lawsuit challenging the Office of Management and Budget’s and the U.S. Department of Justice’s failures to comply with its request for records relating to agreements made between the Trump Administration and several major law firms. Since February 2025, the Trump Administration has issued several executive orders and presidential memoranda targeting major law firms as retribution for the firms’ representation of clients and causes that President Trump opposes. In response, several major law firms have struck deals with the Trump Administration, reportedly agreeing to provide hundreds of millions of dollars in pro bono legal assistance to causes supported by the Administration, and to take steps to ensure that the firms do not engage in any “illegal” “DEI” (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) practices. 

Despite the significance of these agreements to the public’s understanding of the Administration’s efforts to punish political opponents, the agreements are not public. After the agencies failed to respond to the Knight Institute’s request for records relating to the agreements, the Knight Institute filed this lawsuit to enforce its request. The Knight Institute is represented by Deanna Paul of Walden Macht Haran & Williams LLP. 

Agencies Involved: Office of Management and Budget and U.S. Department of Justice 

Status: Complaint filed on October 23, 2025.

Case Information: Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University v. Office of Management and Budget, No. 1:25-cv-08783 (S.D.N.Y.)