A social media company mostly owned by President Donald Trump‘s family trust announced on Tuesday that it’s partnering with one of the nation’s richest law firms to launch a crypto venture.
Trump Media & Technology Group, the parent company of Truth Social, said that Davis Polk & Wardwell would represent the company and its partners to launch MAGA-themed ETFs.
Tuesday’s announcement shows how one Big Law firm is navigating Trump’s return to power and his increasing tendency to target firms connected to previous cases against him.
Greg Andres, co-head of the firm’s white-collar defense practice, worked for special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election and whether Trump campaign officials aided those efforts. Andres was the lead prosecutor during the trial of Paul Manafort, one of Trump’s former campaign managers. Years later, Trump continues to express outrage over the probe.
Trump Media has never mentioned working with Davis Polk in any of its previous SEC filings. There are also no records of the firm working with Crypto.com or its broker-dealer, Foris Capital US LLC.
Davis Polk’s website also doesn’t mention any previous work for Trump’s company, Crypto.com or Yorkville. In the past, TMTG has hired Nelson Mullins, a major law firm with a significant presence in the southeast US, to do its deals work. Attorneys at DLA Piper have represented TMTG in courtroom fights.
Davis Polk has so far avoided Trump’s wide-reach executive orders that have targeted competing Big Law firms. Davis Polk and the other 26 of the nation’s highest-grossing law firms did not sign onto an amicus brief to support Perkins Coie, one of the targets of Trump’s orders.
Davis Polk revised online bios, including one of the firm’s most prominent attorneys, to remove mentions of Mueller’s probe, Bloomberg previously reported. Andres no longer mentions his time working on Mueller’s team during Trump’s first term.
The president’s trust is Trump Media’s majority share owner. In 2021, then-Rep. Devin Nunes of California, a Trump ally, left Congress to run Trump Media. Under his leadership, the media company has sought to expand to other ventures.
Last month, Crypto.com announced a partnership with Yorkville America and Trump Media to bring the ETFs to its platform. Tuesday’s announcement is the culmination of that deal.
Apart from Trump Media, Trump and his family have done their own crypto ventures. Just before retaking office in January, both Trump and first lady Melania Trump launched their own meme coins.
A representative for Davis Polk would not comment on the record for this story.