ISN'T EXTORTION A FELONY ?
Trump gets his way by threatening people.
Back in March of this year, Donald Trump threatened repercussions against law firms that have done legal work adverse to Trump’s interests or that he disagrees with, including threatening the suspension of security clearances for the attorneys who work for those law firms, preventing attorney’s access to federal properties and termination of any federal contracts involving those firms and its clients. Some firms capitulated, agreeing to provide prop bono work for projects favored by the Administration. They would need to abandon any DEI policies in their employment practices and refuse clients disfavored by Trump.
Several national law firms , including a Seattle law firm, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Garrison,& Wharton, capitulated, claiming they would have had to go out of business had those sanctions been applied. The CEO of Paul, Weiss claimed they had no choice. These law firms have been widely criticized for doing so. Some law firms have resisted and refused to comply. Whether they will succeed in maintaining their stance remains to be seen.
To threaten harm for failing to comply with a course of action is called extortion – and it is illegal. It is best known as a tactic used by criminals (such as the Mafia) to get paid for withholding harm to a business. It is not commonly used in the political or government arena. Trump has used extortion as a way of getting what he wants from legislators and government officials. He has threatened Republican legislators with defeat if they do not vote for legislation he wants (e.g. the Big, Beautiful Budget bill). He has threatened states if they do not comply with his immigration and deportation policies. He has even threatened media reporters if they do not craft their stories the way he wants them to. This is not the way previous Presidents have acted, at least the recent ones, and Trump should be censured (or impeached) for this kind of behavior.