WorthyNews:Emails Show WA AGO, Perkins Coie Colluded On Federal Lawsuit Against President Trump

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By TJ Martinell | The Center Square

(Worthy News) – Seattle-based private law firm Perkins Coie and Washington State Attorney General Nick Brown collaborated on an amicus brief – or “friend of the court” – filed on behalf of the firm’s lawsuit in federal court against the Trump administration, emails obtained by The Center Square reveal. Those emails also reveal the private law firm received advice from the Attorney General’s Office on where and when to file the lawsuit.

A former Washington GOP attorney general candidate said the revelations raise ethics concerns.

In March, Perkins Coie filed a lawsuit in federal court against President Donald Trump’s executive orders cancelling the law firm’s federal contracts and revoking its security clearance. The day after the lawsuit was filed, an amicus brief written by the Washington AGO and signed by 20 other state attorneys general was filed in defense of the law firm.

A prior exclusive story by The Center Square revealed that the Washington AGO has 10 active contracts with Perkins Coie, which it did not disclose in its amicus brief that highlighted instances where the law firm challenged state laws defended by the AGO.

Newly obtained internal emails reveal that prior to either the lawsuit or the amicus brief being filed in court, numerous AGOs and Perkins Coie attorneys communicated about both.

“I’ve always considered it a badge of honor to be a Perkins alum, and even more so now,” Washington Solicitor General Noah Guzzo Purcell wrote in a March 9 email to several Perkins Coie attorneys.

In the email to Perkins Coie, Purcell sought guidance on how the AGO should write the amicus brief, which included:

• When the AGO needed to file the amicus brief to be helpful
• What claims Perkins Coie intended to raise in their lawsuit
• Any claims Perkins Coie would want the AGO to emphasize in its amicus brief

Purcell also requested draft copies of the complaint, and any emergency relief papers Perkins Coie had.

In an email sent that same day, a Perkins Coie attorney wrote to Purcell he had been in touch with State Attorney General Nick Brown about the amicus brief, and that another attorney at the law firm would be “helping coordinate” with the AGO on it.

On March 11, a Perkins Coie attorney emailed copies of the law firm’s draft complaint and request for a temporary restraining order to Deputy Solicitor General Emma Grunberg with the Washington AGO. In an email to the Perkins Coie attorney, Grunberg also requested the draft complaint and TRO, noting that “we’ve received some questions from other states wanting to see the filing. Thanks so much and we are working on the amicus in support!”

In an email on March 10, Grunberg wrote to both Purcell and several Perkins Coie attorneys that “just to chime in, Judge Chutkan in the DOGE case in DDC denied a TRO because there wasn’t sufficient evidence of truly irreparable harm even though she thought there was a strong merits case. It seems like (it) may be worth waiting a couple days for a hearing if there’s a greater chance of winning.”

That case involves more than a dozen states alleging that the Department of Government Efficiency is exercising illegal authority including accessing government data systems and cancelling federal contracts.

Grunberg’s email and many others exchanged between the Washington AGO and Perkins Coie contained the subject line “work product, common interest privileged,” which was initially used by the AGO Public Records Office as justification to deny the release of those emails in their entirety. The records were eventually released unredacted after a lawsuit was threatened.

On March 12, a Perkins Coie attorney emailed both Purcell and Brown, writing, “great brief!”

A federal judge ruled in favor of Perkins Coie on May 2. The Justice Department has yet to file an appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals.

An ethics complaint was filed against the Washington AGO regarding the amicus brief after its contracts with Perkins Coie were reported by The Center Square, but the complaint was dismissed by Washington State Ethics Board Executive Director Kate Reynolds, who noted in an email that she reports to Purcell.

Silent Majority Foundation Director General Counsel and Pasco Mayor Pete Serrano was the Republican candidate for attorney general during last year’s election. He told The Center Square that the collaboration between the Washington AGO and Perkins Coie on the lawsuit and amicus brief is “beyond concerning. It begs the question of where the ethical lines should be drawn. Personally, I draw it well before that. They’re giving advice to the people they’re contracting with.”

He added that “if it were the Silent Majority Foundation, they wouldn’t be telling us how to stick the landing with another judge. I’ve had tons of firearm dealers say they’ve called (the AGO) asking for some information on how to interpret the law. AGO flatly refuses to do it. Why does Perkins Coie get preferential treatment?”

“To me, that’s the most scandalous part of the story,” he said. “It’s all done on the back of the taxpayer.”

After The Center Square reached out to the AGO for comment, Deputy Communications Director Mike Faulk wrote that “we’ve already told you that we were in touch with Perkins and that there was nothing unusual or inappropriate about it.”

In a prior story revealing the AGO had 10 active contracts with Perkins Coie that it did not disclose in the amicus brief, The Center Square asked the AGO whether or not it had had any communication with Perkins Coie regarding the lawsuit and amicus brief before they were filed. Faulk wrote then that “when our office files an amicus brief supporting a party, we routinely contact that party to let them know we will be filing and to consult about the filing deadlines and the litigation generally. We did the same here. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that or out of the ordinary about it.”

He wrote “the premise that there was something ethically questionable about this is an absurd fiction. It’s about as meritorious as the claim that the Earth is flat. There is no rule, law, precedent or any other standard that would indicate this is unethical or even unusual. If there is, I certainly haven’t seen it mentioned in any of The Center Square’s coverage of this issue.”

When asked why the emails were released despite claims by the senders of common interest privilege, Faulk wrote that The Center Square was “making broad assumptions about the records disclosure process. These labels are tools to flag potentially non-disclosable materials. That doesn’t mean they don’t end up being disclosed after further review.”

The Center Square reached out to numerous legal ethics sources in Washington state and throughout the country for comment as to whether or not the AGO’s communications with Perkins Coie were appropriate, but none were willing to do so or did not respond.

Reprinted with permission from The Center Square.

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