Amherst professor Austin Sarat examines President Donald Trump’s current efforts to pressure major law firms and corporations, including Microsoft, to punish individuals he considers personal enemies—often through actions resembling unconstitutional “bills of attainder” that impose penalties without due process. Professor Sarat argues that while big businesses and their leaders possess the influence to resist these authoritarian tactics, they have largely remained silent out of fear, self-interest, or moral weakness, thereby failing to uphold democratic values.