Trump says law firms punished through his executive orders can redeem themselves

President Trump Monday said law firms who were punished through his recent executive orders over their past political actions have a chance to redeem themselves.

“I just think that the law firms have to behave themselves, and we’ve proven that we have others that want to make a settlement,” Mr. Trump said at the White House.

He said the firms behaved “very wrongly” in partisan elections and other actions.

“These are the biggest firms, and they all came back realizing that they did wrong, and that’s why they’re doing this,” Mr. Trump said. “So I just think they have to behave. We have to straighten out our country. We have to straighten out our elections. Our elections are very dishonest, very corrupt, and we have to straighten it out.”

Mr. Trump also reiterated his wish that Americans vote by paper on one day only, and that a voter ID would be mandatory for everybody at the polls to show proof of U.S. citizenship.

“You know, paper ballots are very secure. They have watermark paper. It’s very intricate stuff. It’s very technologically advanced,” he said. “Even though it’s paper, you’d have no trouble.”

The law firm of Paul Weiss cut a deal with the White House recently after it was targeted, among other high-profile law firms in recent weeks, by Mr. Trump through his executive orders.

The firm agreed to give $40 million in free legal aid to charities supported by Mr. Trump so that it could compete for government contracts.

The pledge of $40 million in pro bono legal services included a task force being run by the Justice Department aimed at tackling antisemitism “and other mutually agreed projects.”

Paul Weiss employs more than 2,000 lawyers and is considered one of the largest legal firms in the country. After the deal was cut between the firm and the White House, Mr. Trump rescinded the EO against the law firm.

Following his return to the White House, Mr. Trump, through his orders, has prohibited some of the most powerful law firms from winning federal contracts.

These include Perkins Coie and Covington & Burling, with the former still fighting the administration in court. About a dozen firms are expected to be hit with new executive orders.

Many of these firms worked with Mr. Trump’s political opponents, including the Hillary Clinton campaign in 2016 and former President Biden.