by RaveGoat — June 2025

🏛️ In the Court of Public Opinion, the Verdict Is In

Major corporations are finally distancing themselves from law firms that cut deals with the Trump administration. They’re not doing it because they suddenly care about civil rights, due process, or the Constitution.

They’re doing it because they don’t want to be seen as Nazi sympathizers.

Let’s not sugarcoat this. They tolerated the normalization of authoritarian rhetoric, they banked profits while the groundwork for soft totalitarianism was laid, and they played both sides when it was safe. But now that the tide of extremism is visible to everyone — now that judges are calling the administration’s orders unconstitutional, and protests are breaking out in front of corporate HQs and law offices alike — they’re scrambling for cover.

🧬 A Reputation Emergency

The exodus began quietly, reported in legal circles and finally leaked via The Wall Street Journal. Microsoft, Citadel, McDonald’s, Oracle, and others began pulling legal contracts from firms that struck cooperation deals with Trump’s White House. Some of those firms had agreed to do pro-bono work defending police officers accused of brutality or other “public service” roles aligned with the regime.

Meanwhile, law firms that fought back in court — Jenner & Block, WilmerHale, Perkins Coie — began receiving new corporate business. Why? Because they showed a spine. Because they didn’t roll over. Because they can now offer something more valuable than legal expertise: reputational distance from authoritarian power.

🧥 It Was Never About Ethics

Let’s be clear: this shift isn’t about principles.

If these companies cared about justice, they would have spoken out in 2023, when Palantir surveillance tools were being weaponized against migrants.

They would have taken a stand in 2024, when judges were being threatened, journalists were being harassed, and protest was being criminalized.

They would have left those firms before they were exposed.

But they didn’t.

They stayed quiet. Profitable. Compliant.

Now they move because the optics have flipped. Now, staying aligned looks riskier than pulling away.

They’re not defending democracy. They’re defending their brands.

🕵️\200d♂️ What They See Coming

Here’s what corporate legal teams are really looking at:

• Growing extremism: When Trump-aligned influencers are openly promoting remigration, police crackdowns, and the rollback of birthright citizenship, it gets harder to pretend this is business as usual.
• Legal exposure: If this administration is eventually found liable for civil rights violations or constitutional abuses, those who collaborated — even legally — could face future lawsuits or sanctions.
• Market pressure: Employees are angry. Consumers are watching. ESG investors are getting spooked.
• Global credibility: International partners do not want to be seen doing business with collaborators.

So they’re hedging. Not out of courage. Out of fear.

❌ No Applause for Survival Instincts

Let’s not confuse this behavior with resistance.

These corporations aren’t taking a moral stand. They’re making a calculation:

“How do we make sure that when history asks what side we were on, we can point to a contract cancellation and say: See? We weren’t with them.“

It’s too little. It’s too late. But it is telling.

Even the titans of industry can feel the temperature rising.

Even the powerful are afraid of being caught too close to the flame.

And if they are worried about being seen as Nazi-adjacent?

You should absolutely keep resisting.

🔎 Log It. Remember It.

This isn’t the end of the drift. But it is a moment. It shows that pressure works. It shows that people do care how it looks. And it proves that even the most insulated institutions can be forced to move when the narrative turns.

They don’t want to look like Nazis.

Let’s make sure history never lets them forget how close they came.