The client said that if the president’s executive order holds the company as a defense attorney, it could present a conflict of interest.
New York-based law firm Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison (Paul Weiss), said in a court application on March 19 that President Donald Trump was fired by his client last month after signing an executive order revoking security clearance from employees.
“Mr. Schwartz is concerned that his continued representation could negatively affect his ability to obtain a favorable review of his case, or his ability to create a potential conflict of interest between Schwartz, Paul and Weiss because of the executive order.
“Regardless of whether the ongoing review allows the government to engage with Paul at Weiss, Schwartz is concerned that Weiss could be involved in the matter on a continuous basis.
The order also mentioned the former Chief Prosecutor of Special Adviser Robert Mueller, who joined the company and filed a free lawsuit against an individual accused at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. Trump suggested that these types of shed cases deprived the accused of access to justice.
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The president also accused Paul Weiss of discriminating against his employees “based on race and other categories prohibited by civil rights laws,” and argued that his “diversity, equity and inclusion” policies were biased.
Schwartz is the former Chief Justice Officer at Cognizant Technology Corp. He was accused of violating the US Foreign Corruption Practices Act in 2019 in India’s bribery program and later pleaded not guilty. The Trump administration suspended pending prosecutions under foreign bribery laws in February.
In a court application Wednesday, Paul Weiss said the Justice Department is considering the next step in the case and that Schwartz is “a concern that his ongoing representative could negatively affect his ability to get a positive review of his case.”
Kimberly Hayek and Reuters contributed to this report.
