(AFP) – Two leading US law firms sued the administration of President Donald Trump on Friday after he stripped security clearances from their attorneys and blocked them from doing business with the government. Jenner & Block and WilmerHale filed separate lawsuits after Trump signed executive orders this week sanctioning the firms.
In two discrete rulings by US federal judges Friday evening, both were awarded temporary restraining orders blocking Trump’s executive orders from taking effect pending further review. Since taking office, the Republican president has moved to settle scores with the law firms that had represented his political foes in the past or helped bring him to court on civil or criminal charges. Trump has signed executive orders targeting five so-called “Big Law” firms so far. Two other firms have cut deals with the president.
Trump signed an executive order on Thursday sanctioning WilmerHale, the former law firm of Robert Mueller, the special counsel who investigated whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia during the 2016 election. On Tuesday, Trump targeted Jenner & Block, which once employed a prosecutor who was a key member of Mueller’s investigative team. In both cases, Trump suspended security clearances, ordered the termination of government contracts and limited access to federal government buildings for employees of the firms.
Mueller worked at WilmerHale before being appointed special counsel and rejoined after the probe’s conclusion until his retirement in 2021. In its complaint, Jenner & Block called Trump’s executive order “an unconstitutional abuse of power against lawyers, their clients and the legal system.” It is intended to hamper the ability of individuals and businesses to have the lawyers of their choice zealously represent them,” it said. “And it is intended to coerce law firms and lawyers into renouncing the Administration’s critics and ceasing certain representations adverse to the government.”
Another firm targeted by Trump, Perkins Coie, has also filed suit against the administration and obtained a restraining order from a judge temporarily blocking the sanctions. Two more firms — Paul Weiss and Skadden Arps — have entered into agreements with Trump to avoid sanctions. Paul Weiss and Skadden Arps both agreed to provide pro bono legal services to “support the administration’s initiatives” — $40 million in Paul Weiss’s case and $100 million for Skadden Arps. Announcing the Skadden Arps agreement on Truth Social on Friday, Trump said the firm will provide pro bono services to assist veterans and members of law enforcement, ensure “fairness in our Justice System” and combat anti-Semitism.
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