In Washington, a law firm that has come under scrutiny by former President Donald Trump due to its involvement in legal matters during the 2016 presidential race has filed a lawsuit against the federal government. This action was prompted by an executive order aimed at revoking security clearances from the firm’s attorneys. The recently signed order by Trump intends to punish Perkins Coie by not only suspending its lawyers’ security clearances but also by barring the firm’s employees from accessing federal buildings and terminating their federal contracts.
This move is part of a series of retaliatory steps the former president has taken against certain legal entities. It follows an earlier directive that sought to remove security clearances from attorneys at another firm that provided legal services to special counsel Jack Smith. Smith had conducted criminal investigations into Trump both before and during his second term.
Perkins Coie gained attention for representing Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential campaign, as well as handling various voting rights challenges for the Democrats during the 2020 election. The firm was thrust into the spotlight in 2017 when it came out that they had hired a private research firm to carry out opposition research on Trump during the 2016 campaign. This research firm, Fusion GPS, went on to enlist former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele to investigate potential suspicious connections between Trump and Russia.
In a lawsuit filed in a federal court in Washington, attorneys for Perkins Coie argue that the executive order constitutes an unlawful backlash. They urge the court to prevent the order from being enforced. A hearing is scheduled to take place on Wednesday afternoon.
The legal challenge highlights that the primary lawyers involved in activities that reportedly angered Trump had left Perkins Coie several years earlier and represented only a minor portion of the firm’s over 1,200 attorneys. They also contend that the order has already negatively impacted the firm’s finances, with some clients severing ties in the past week, which the firm considers an unlawful act of discrimination based on political stance.
“The order attacks the Constitution and our system of justice. Its clear purpose is to intimidate those who express views contrary to the President’s administration, regardless of whether these are for clients who pay or those represented pro bono,” the lawsuit claims.
Previously, Trump had brought a lawsuit against Perkins Coie in 2022, alongside Hillary Clinton and various FBI officials, alleging a grand conspiracy behind the Russia investigation that loomed over his presidency. That case was ultimately dismissed.
