Pair of law firms sue Trump over security clearance punishment – Washington Examiner
Two law firms, wilmerhale and Jenner & Block, have filed lawsuits against President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., challenging his recent executive orders that stripped their employees of security clearances and access to federal facilities. These orders are seen as unconstitutional by the firms, which argue that they are retaliatory measures aimed at punishing the firms for their legal portrayal of clients in politically sensitive cases. Trump’s actions were largely influenced by the firms’ representation of liberal causes and their connections to individuals he views as political adversaries. The lawsuits claim these orders violate the constitutional right to counsel and assert the Frist amendment protections for free speech and free association. prominent attorney Paul Clement represents WilmerHale in the lawsuit, which follows a previous legal challenge from Perkins Coie, another law firm targeted by Trump. The ongoing legal disputes could potentially escalate to the Supreme Court as tensions between the Trump management and prominent law firms continue.
Pair of law firms sue Trump over security clearance punishment
Two targets of President Donald Trump’s law firm revenge spree filed lawsuits against the administration on Friday, saying the president’s executive actions against them were unconstitutional.
The firms, WilmerHale and Jenner & Block, brought the cases in Washington, D.C., in response to Trump signing executive orders stripping their employees of security clearances, restricting their access to federal buildings, and threatening to cut ties with any government contractors using the firms.
Trump alleged in his orders that some of the firms’ legal endeavors undermined the interests of the United States. They are two of about a half dozen prominent law firms Trump has used his executive power to penalize over their representation of liberal causes, such as pushing controversial transgender policies, promoting abortion access, or embracing discriminatory diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.
The president also emphasized in his orders the firms’ ties to his political enemies. Trump pointed to former special counsel Robert Mueller’s past employment at WilmerHale, Covington & Burling LLP’s work for former special counsel Jack Smith, left-leaning lawyer Andrew Weissmann’s past employment with Jenner & Block, and Perkins Coie’s past ties to left-leaning election lawyer Marc Elias and work in 2016 with Hillary Clinton and FusionGPS, which compiled the dossier containing discredited allegations about Trump and Russia.
WilmerHale, which also employed Todd Blanche, Trump’s former personal lawyer and current deputy attorney general, said in its 63-page complaint that Trump’s orders were overtly retaliatory and conflicted with the constitutional right to counsel.
“In an unprecedented assault on that bedrock principle, the President has issued multiple executive orders in recent weeks targeting law firms and their employees as an undisguised form of retaliation for representing clients and causes he disfavors or employing lawyers he dislikes,” WilmerHale’s attorneys said.
To represent the firm, WilmerHale enlisted renowned Republican lawyer Paul Clement, who served as former President George W. Bush’s solicitor general and has built a reputation as one of the most successful appellate litigators in the country. Clement called Trump’s orders “unprecedented and unconstitutional.”
“The First Amendment protects the rights of WilmerHale, its employees, and its clients to speak freely, petition the courts and other government institutions, and associate with the counsel of their choice without facing retaliation and discrimination by federal officials,” Clement said.
The two firms’ lawsuits against Trump came after Perkins Coie waged the first legal fight with the president over the orders going after Big Law. Judge Beryl Howell, an Obama appointee, temporarily enjoined Trump from enforcing his order against Perkins Coie, a move that could bode well for other firms now piling on and seeking relief in the courts.
DOJ MOVES TO BOOT JUDGE FROM PERKINS COIE CASE OVER HER ‘DISDAIN’ FOR TRUMP
Trump’s escalating fights with Big Law signal that they could be on track for the Supreme Court. Another firm, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, appeared to want to avoid the intensifying legal battle.
After Trump signed an order against that firm, partly because it once employed anti-Trump lawyer Mark Pomerantz, it reached an agreement with Trump that will involve it providing $40 million in pro bono services for Trump-aligned causes in exchange for the president rescinding the order.
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