Perkins Coie sues over Trump's order stripping security clearances
Law firm Perkins Coie has launched a suit to challenge President Trump’s stripping of security clearances for lawyers at the firm, saying it was targeted due to its past work for Democrats.
Perkins Coie, which represented Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign in 2016, was the subject of an executive order signed by Trump last week, citing the “dishonest and dangerous activity” of the firm.
Beyond stripping the firm’s clearances, the far-reaching order also essentially blocked its attorneys from federal buildings.
“The Order imposes these punishments as retaliation for the firm’s association with, and representation of, clients that the President perceives as his political opponents,” Perkins Coie wrote in the suit.
“The retaliatory aim of the Order is intentionally obvious to the general public and the press because the very goal is to chill future lawyers from representing particular clients.”
Perkins Coie is being represented by Williams & Connolly, a firm with significant experience in fighting the federal government.
During the 2016 campaign, Perkins Coie lawyers worked with Fusion GPS, which was connected to the Steele dossier, which contained unflattering allegations about Trump and his connections to Russia.
Both Perkins Coie lawyers who worked on that case, Marc Elias and Michael Sussmann, left the law firm years ago.
Perkins Coie argues Trump acted outside the bounds of his executive authority in seeking to insert himself into matters that would otherwise be before the judicial branch. It also argues Trump violated its First Amendment free speech rights, as well as its Fifth Amendment rights to due process.
The firm also argued that by stripping its clearance and access to federal buildings, it was crippling the firm's ability to represent clients suing the federal government.
“The Order is an affront to the Constitution and our adversarial system of justice. Its plain purpose is to bully those who advocate points of view that the President perceives as adverse to the views of his Administration. … Perkins Coie brings this case reluctantly,” it said in the suit.
“The firm is comprised of lawyers who advocate for clients; its attorneys and employees are not activists or partisans. But Perkins Coie’s ability to represent the interests of its clients — and its ability to operate as a legal-services business at all — are under direct and imminent threat. Perkins Coie cannot allow its clients to be bullied.”
Trump has said he would strip the security clearances of a number of figures and has also done so for another firm, Covington & Burling, which provided pro bono legal services to former special counsel Jack Smith.
He also reportedly stripped the security clearance of Mark Zaid, a national security lawyer who represented whistleblowers at the center of Trump’s first impeachment.
Trump also previously signed an order stripping security clearances from 50 former national security officials who had signed on to a letter casting doubt on the authenticity of a recovered laptop purported to belong to Hunter Biden. He also revoked clearances of several Biden administration officials, including former national security adviser Jake Sullivan and former Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
In a post on the social platform X on Monday, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said she had moved ahead with formalizing the revocation of numerous security clearances.
“Per @POTUS directive, I have revoked security clearances and barred access to classified information for Antony Blinken, Jake Sullivan, Lisa Monaco, Mark Zaid, Norman Eisen, Letitia James, Alvin Bragg, and Andrew Weissman, along with the 51 signers of the Hunter Biden 'disinformation' letter. The President's Daily Brief is no longer being provided to former President Biden,” she wrote.
However, some of those whose clearances were stripped have yet to be formally notified.
Neither the White House nor Gabbard’s office responded to requests for comment.
Topics
-
Law firm sues Trump administration after executive order targeting its attorneys
Perkins Coie has filed suit against the Trump administration over an executive order that targeted the firm for its work representing Clinton's 2016 campaign.ABC News - 9h -
Tulsi Gabbard pulls security clearances for top Biden officials and those who went after Trump
National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard said Monday she has stripped security clearances from dozens of former national security officials, the Manhattan district attorney who secured a felony ...NBC News - 1d -
Will a collection agency sue over a $5,000 debt?
Debt collectors have the right to sue you over unpaid debts, but they won't always take that route.CBS News - 1d -
Democrats ask judge to block Trump order giving him more control over FEC
In February, Mr. Trump signed an executive order to curtail the authority of independent regulatory agencies.CBS News - 13h -
Democrats ask judge to block Trump order giving him more control over FEC
In February, Mr. Trump signed an executive order to curtail the authority of independent regulatory agencies.CBS News - 13h -
Wall Street Journal: 'Someone should sue' Trump over tariffs
The Wall Street Journal editorial board took a swipe at President Trump's recent tariff threats, alleging the administration is using a 48-year-old law to start a trade war. In a recent op-ed, the ...The Hill - 3d -
Tribes and Students Sue Trump Administration Over Firings at Native Schools
More than one quarter of the staff members at the only two federally run colleges for Native students were cut in February.The New York Times - 2d -
Climate United Sues E.P.A. Over Frozen $20 Billion
In a lawsuit, Climate United claims the E.P.A. is illegally withholding funds that have become a target of the Trump administration.The New York Times - 3d -
Trump Organization sues Capital One bank over account closures after Jan. 6 Capitol riot
The Trump companies accuse Capitol One of having "'woke' beliefs that it needed to distance itself from President Trump and his conservative political views."CNBC - 4d
More from The Hill
-
Judge declines to block DOGE from taking over African development agency
A federal judge on Tuesday declined to block the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from taking over the U.S. African Development Foundation (USADF). U.S. District Judge Richard Leon ...The Hill - 4h -
Lutnick says Trump tariffs 'worth it' even if they lead to recession
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Tuesday that President Trump’s tariff policies will be worth it, even if the economy ends up in a recession. In an interview that aired Tuesday, CBS News’s ...The Hill - 5h -
Democrat wins special election for Minnesota state House seat
Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) candidate David Gottfried is projected to win a special election for a seat in the Minnesota House, according to Decision Desk HQ. Gottfried, a pro bono ...The Hill - 5h -
GOP Rep. Mark Harris says Trump has done 'tremendous job' making case against Education Department
Rep. Mark Harris (R-N.C.) said on Tuesday that President Trump successfully made the case against the Department of Education during his 2024 campaign, leading more Republicans to support the ...The Hill - 5h -
Sununu on possible Senate bid: 'I have not ruled it out completely'
Former New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R) said he is considering running for Senate after previously rejecting the possibility. “I have not ruled it out completely, but folks in Washington have ...The Hill - 7h
More in Politics
-
Judge declines to block DOGE from taking over African development agency
A federal judge on Tuesday declined to block the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from taking over the U.S. African Development Foundation (USADF). U.S. District Judge Richard Leon ...The Hill - 4h -
Lutnick says Trump tariffs 'worth it' even if they lead to recession
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Tuesday that President Trump’s tariff policies will be worth it, even if the economy ends up in a recession. In an interview that aired Tuesday, CBS News’s ...The Hill - 5h -
Democrat wins special election for Minnesota state House seat
Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) candidate David Gottfried is projected to win a special election for a seat in the Minnesota House, according to Decision Desk HQ. Gottfried, a pro bono ...The Hill - 5h -
GOP Rep. Mark Harris says Trump has done 'tremendous job' making case against Education Department
Rep. Mark Harris (R-N.C.) said on Tuesday that President Trump successfully made the case against the Department of Education during his 2024 campaign, leading more Republicans to support the ...The Hill - 5h -
USAID staff instructed to clear out classified safes and shred or burn documents
"Shred as many documents first, and reserve the burn bags for when the shredder becomes unavailable or needs a break," the email reads.CBS News - 6h