Trump Wants Law Firms to Defend Cops Facing Misconduct Suits

President Donald Trump ordered the Justice Department on Monday to launch a program including free legal assistance from law firms to police officers accused of wrongdoing.

The program will “provide legal resources and indemnification to law enforcement officers who unjustly incur expenses and liabilities for actions taken during the performance of their official duties to enforce the law,” Trump said in an executive order. “This mechanism shall include the use of private-sector pro bono assistance for such law enforcement officers.”

Major law firms have committed $940 million in legal services in a series of deals with Trump, seeking to avoid punitive executive orders like those targeting other firms over ties to lawyers involved in investigations and cases against the president. The firms pledged to take up a range of issues, including supporting military veterans and law enforcement officers, as well as “ensuring fairness” in the justice system.

Trump has also suggested he’ll tap the firms to work on trade issues stemming from his tariff war and in efforts to ramp up coal mining.

The agreements have drawn questions across the legal profession and from Democrats on Capitol Hill about whether Trump intends to use the commitments as a lawsuit slush fund. Leaders of several firms striking deals with the White House—such as Kirkland & Ellis, Paul Weiss, Milbank LLP, and A&O Shearman—told their lawyers that the firms would have full control over decisions about clients and cases.

The new order—titled “Strengthening and Unleashing America’s Law Enforcement"—was among three issued by Trump Monday aimed at policing and immigration.

“When local leaders demonize law enforcement and impose legal and political handcuffs that make aggressively enforcing the law impossible, crime thrives and innocent citizens and small business owners suffer,” Trump said in the order.