As its parent company faces a lawsuit from President Donald Trump, "60 Minutes" aired a segment Sunday night that labeled Trump a threat to the legal system, election system and the rule of law itself.
Host Scott Pelley spoke to several lawyers about Trump’s executive orders targeting and penalizing law firms associated with Democratic attacks against him. Pelley said it was "nearly impossible" to find people to speak on camera about the subject out of fear of retaliation.
One of the few who did speak to Pelley was Democratic attorney Marc Elias, who worked as general counsel for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign and whose former firm, Perkins Coie, was at the center of one executive order in March. Perkins Coie was the firm that hired the company behind the infamous Christopher Steele dossier about Trump’s alleged connections to Russia.
Among other things, the order called for Perkins Coie employees to be stripped of their security clearances and banned from accessing government buildings. It also called for the termination of the firm's existing contracts with government clients.
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Elias referred to Trump as "the walking embodiment of everything that is wrong with the American political system" and suggested the rule of law is at risk if these executive orders stand. Without that, Elias claimed, Trump could take on other institutions.
"This is why the business community ought to care," Elias said. "Today, it might be that, you know, Donald Trump thinks he can take over the election system through one of his executive orders. Tomorrow, maybe it's the banking system. After that, maybe it's contracts. Maybe he decrees I'm going to decide which contracts are binding and which contracts aren't binding."
He added, "So, the legal system is fundamental to how our society operates, how capitalism operates, and everyone should have a stake in that."
Donald Ayer, former Deputy Attorney General under President George H.W. Bush, also called Trump’s order "a direct attack on the whole functioning of our judicial system" with the whole system of government at risk.
Another lawyer, San Francisco attorney John Keker, spoke about his effort to recruit law firms to oppose and challenge Trump’s executive orders, saying that the alternative could result in a dictatorship.
"That's what's happened in China. It happened in Russia. These are legal systems that look like legal systems, but in fact are controlled by a dictatorship," Keker said.
"60 Minutes" did not air a guest to argue in favor of Trump’s orders against law firms.
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A federal judge blocked Trump’s order against Perkins Coie shortly after the law firm requested an emergency restraining order preventing the order from taking effect.
The same judge permanently blocked Trump’s order from taking effect on Friday, calling it unconstitutional.
"60 Minutes" is currently caught up in its own legal issues with Trump as CBS and parent company Paramount Global continue to navigate the lawsuit.
Trump is seeking $20 billion in a lawsuit against CBS, alleging election interference over its handling of a "60 Minutes" interview last year with then-Vice President Kamala Harris. The president accused CBS of aiding his 2024 Democratic opponent through deceptive editing just weeks before the presidential election. Paramount Global agreed to mediation last month, signaling their courtroom feud could result in a settlement.
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