Federal appeals court probes Trump's targeting of law firms |
Federal appeals court probes Trump’s targeting of law firms
A federal appeals court panel on Thursday scrutinized President Trump’s executive orders targeting several of the nation’s top law firms, which claim they were retaliated against for representing his political adversaries.
Sharp questions were asked of both the law firms and the Justice Department by a three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit that sought to determine whether Trump acted within his authority by clamping down on law firms Perkins Coie, WilmerHale, Jenner & Block and Susman Godfrey.
A slate of federal judges in Washington have rejected the orders as unlawful. Trump’s directives sought to undercut each law firm’s business by limiting government contracts, in addition to employees’ security clearances and their access to government buildings.
DOJ lawyer Abhishek Kambli said Thursday that the law firms’ commercial association is not constitutionally protected conduct, including the lawyers they hire. He suggested that “pretty extreme second and third order effects” would follow if that were to change.
The firms, meanwhile, argued that Trump’s directives were about “maximizing punishment” for representing his political adversaries, as each had ties to opponents of the president.
“Let’s hurt them everywhere we can,” Paul Clement, the lawyer who argued on behalf of all four firms, said of the government’s intentions.
Perkins Coie advised Hillary Clinton during her 2016 presidential campaign. WilmerHale employed........