First on Anthropic in a court hearing challenging sanctions imposed by the Trump administration, an AI technology startup asked the government to pledge not to impose additional penalties on the company. This didn’t happen.
“I am not prepared to offer any commitment on this issue,” Justice Department lawyer James Harlow told U.S. District Judge Rita Lin on Tuesday.
In fact, the government is preparing to take another step aimed at removing the company from doing business with federal agencies. President Trump is currently working on issuing an executive order that would formally ban the exploit of anthropic tools across the government, according to a White House person familiar with the matter but not authorized to discuss it. Axles first reported on set.
Tuesday’s hearing stemmed from one of two federal lawsuits Anthropic filed on Monday against the Trump administration, accusing the government of unconstitutionally designating it a supply chain threat and turning it into a tech industry pariah. According to the company, Anthropic’s multi-billion revenues are now at risk as current and potential customers abandon contracts and demand modern terms.
Anthropic is seeking a preliminary court order suspending the risk designation and prohibiting the administration from taking further punitive measures against the company.
A schedule for a preliminary hearing was scheduled for Tuesday’s hearing, and Anthropic wants this to happen soon to prevent further harm to its business. Michael Mongan, Anthropic’s lawyer at WilmerHale, told Lin he was less concerned about a delay until April if the Trump administration committed to taking no additional action. “The defendants’ actions cause irreversible injuries, and those injuries multiply by the day,” Mongan said.
After Harlow’s refusal, Lin moved the trial date to March 24 in San Francisco, although that date was still later than Anthropic wanted. “The case is quite important for both sides and I want to make sure that I make a decision on an expedited, but also full, protocol,” the judge said.
The schedule for the second case, in Washington, has been put on hold while Anthropic files an administrative appeal with the Department of Defense, which is expected to fail on Wednesday.
The months-long dispute between the Pentagon and Anthropic began when the AI startup refused to allow the military to exploit its current technologies for any lawful purpose, which it fears could include widespread surveillance of Americans and launching missiles without human supervision. The Department of Defense says usage decisions are its responsibility.
Several lawyers specializing in government contracts and the U.S. Constitution believe the administration’s actions against Anthropic continue a pattern of abusing the law to punish perceived political enemies, including universities, media companies and law firms (such as Wilmer Halecompany representing Anthropic). Experts say the Anthropic Principle should prevail, but the challenge will be overcoming the deference that courts often show to government arguments about national security, especially in times of war.
“If this is a one-off, maybe you can show the president some respect,” says Harold Hongju Koh, a Yale Law School professor who worked in Barack Obama’s presidential administration and he wrote regarding Anthropic. “But now there is no doubt that this is the latest in a chain of events involving a punitive presidency.”
David Super, a professor at Georgetown University Law Center who studies the Constitution, says the provisions used by the Department of Defense to impose sanctions on Anthropic were intended to protect the country from potential sabotage by enemies.