Trump Organization Fires Attorney William Burck Over Harvard Lawsuit, At President’s Suggestion

Topline

The Trump Organization fired its ethics attorney William Burck on Thursday for representing Harvard University in its lawsuit against the government, CNN reports, after President Donald Trump suggested it on Truth Social, raising questions about the president’s independence from his business empire—which is exactly what Burck’s appointment was supposed to avoid.

President Donald Trump arrives with his sons Donald Trump, Jr., left and Eric Trump, in Des Moines, … More Iowa, on Jan. 15, 2024.

Key Facts

Trump’s son Eric Trump confirmed to Forbes the company had parted ways with Burck and “will be moving in a different direction,” less than two hours after the president railed against the lawyer on Truth Social and suggested his sons—who now run the Trump Organization—should “[get] rid of him ASAP!”

Burck is the co-managing partner of the law firm Quinn Emmanuel, and after he represented other Trump allies like Steve Bannon, the Trump Organization hired him to be an outside ethics adviser in January, saying he would help prevent any conflicts of interest between the Trump Organization and Trump’s presidency.

The Trump Organization said in a press release at the time that Burck’s appointment would help the Trump Organization with its “ongoing commitment to … avoiding even the appearance of ethics concerns.”

Donald Trump stepped down from running the Trump Organization before he first took office in 2017, transferring leadership to his sons in order to avoid conflicts of interest, though he has never formally divested from his business.

Burck is one of the lawyers representing Harvard in its lawsuit against the Trump administration over the government’s decision to freeze the school’s federal funding, arguing the Trump administration’s actions violate the First Amendment by “interfer[ing] with private actors’ speech to advance its own vision of ideological balance.”

Burck has not yet responded to a request for comment.

Crucial Quote

“Harvard is a threat to Democracy, with a lawyer, who represents me, who should therefore be forced to resign, immediately, or be fired,” Trump said on Truth Social on Thursday about Burck, adding the lawyer is “not that good, anyway.” “I hope that my very big and beautiful company, now run by my sons, gets rid of him ASAP!”

Tangent

In addition to Burck, Harvard is also being represented in court by Robert Hur, a former U.S. attorney during Trump’s first term. He then served as the special counsel investigating former President Joe Biden’s handling of classified materials, releasing a report that garnered controversy for criticizing Biden’s mental acuity.

Who Is William Burck?

Burck is a well known right-leaning attorney, who previously represented Bannon in his federal fraud case before resigning from the case in 2020. His resignation came after Bannon garnered controversy for making inflammatory comments about Dr. Anthony Fauci and then-FBI Director Christopher Wray, though Burck did not specify a reason for his departure. Burck is a former federal prosecutor at the Southern District of New York who also served as a special counsel and deputy counsel to President George W. Bush. His firm Quinn Emmanuel is also known for representing billionaire Elon Musk, a close ally of the president, in multiple lawsuits.

Key Background

Trump’s public pressure for his company to part ways with Burck comes as the president has become more brazen in his second term about blurring the line between his presidency and business ventures. While reports suggest Trump still received briefings about the Trump Organization during his first term, he didn’t claim any ties to his former company—even as the business profited off his presidency. Forbes estimates the Trump Organization took in $550 million between 2017 and 2020, as foreign leaders and Trump allies became mainstays at Trump properties while the president’s Mar-a-Lago estate became known as the “winter White House.” In his second term, however, Trump has increasingly involved himself in a slew of business ventures that benefit from his presidency, ranging from his media venture Trump Media and his $TRUMP memecoin to his company’s store hawking everything from watches to gold notes. Trump’s post Thursday came one day after the president sent the price of his memecoin soaring by announcing a special dinner with the coin’s top holders.