The top lawyer from the Trump administration is opening an office in Washington for a West Coast law firm alongside two of his former White House deputies.
Former White House counsel
Cipollone rose to national prominence in 2020 when he defended President
Philbin, a former clerk to Supreme Court Justice
In the final days of the administration, Cipollone and Philbin pushed back against Trump’s efforts to reverse the election results, according to a report released this week by the Senate Judiciary Committee. They were both present at a tense meeting in the Oval Office in which Trump discussed installing new leadership at the Justice Department to advance his voter-fraud claims. Participants in the meeting recalled Cipollone describing the plan as a “murder-suicide pact,” the report said.
His new project promises to be less contentious. The office will focus on complex business litigation, investigations and plaintiffs’ work rather than political cases, according to a person familiar with the planning.
Also joining the firm’s Washington office are Sidley Austin LLP’s
(Updates with Senate report in fifth paragraph.)
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