Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli has dropped the law firm that dropped the House of Representatives as a client after being tasks with defending the Defense of Marriage Act, which prevents the federal government from recognizing gay marriages. Cuccinelli write to King & Spalding, the Atlanta-based law firm, to admonish it for showing weakness in succumbing to pressure to not defend the law.

Ending its relationship with the House "was such an obsequious act of weakness" that Virginia can no longer employ the firm, Cuccinelli wrote. Virginia prefers to work with companies that show "commitment, courage, strength and toughness, and unfortunately... your firm utterly lacks such qualities." He added that he wants to make sure "there is no chance that one of my legal clients will be put in the embarrassing and difficult situation like the client you walked away from, the House of Representatives," the Washington Examiner's Mark Tapscott reports. The letter ends the 19-month relationship with King & Spalding "effective immediately."

When Politico's Jennifer Epstein contacted the firm about the report, its spokesman said it was the first he'd heard of Cuccinelli's decision. But Slate's Dave Weigel observes, "It's become pretty well established that King & Spalding pulled out of its contract with House Republicans because corporate clients (Coca Cola especially) cried havoc. The economic interest is here; Coca Cola's business was worth more than Virginia's."
 

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Elspeth Reeve