A federal judge has temporarily blocked part of President Donald Trump’s executive order prohibiting interactions with federal agencies and revoking security clearances from employees at the Perkins Coie law firm, saying that it was likely unconstitutional.
According to Politico, US District Judge Beryl Howell said that the "retaliatory animus" of the order signed by Trump earlier in March is "clear on its face," and appeared to violate constitutional restrictions on "viewpoint discrimination."
Howell said that the order "runs head on into the wall of First Amendment protections."
The order, signed by Trump on March 6, security clearances as well as access to certain federal resources were suspended, citing "lawfare" and "unlawful" DEI practices at the firm. The Seattle-based firm has represented Democratic causes and politicians, including Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign, during which Perkins Coie played a role in commissioning a dossier from Christopher Steele that alleged that Trump had been "compromised" by Russia, claims that were not backed up by a federal investigation.
According to CBS News, Howell's order blocks three parts of the executive order from taking effect: "provisions that ban the firm's attorneys from entering government buildings, that restrict contact between federal officials and the firm's attorneys and that subject the firm's contracts with federal contractors to review by Trump administration agency heads."
Howell said that the order would harm not just the 1,200 lawyers at the firm, but also its 2,500 non-lawyer employees. Howell also said that the order had been issued without notice to the firm or due process.
"This may be amusing in ‘Alice in Wonderland’ where the Queen of Hearts yells, ‘Off with their heads!’ at annoying subjects … and announces a sentence before a verdict, but this cannot be the reality we are living under," Howell said.
Speaking from the bench Wednesday, Howell expressed concerns that the order would intimidate other law firms. "I am sure that many in the legal profession are watching in horror at what Perkins Coie is going through here. The order casts a chilling harm of blizzard proportions across the legal profession."
Chad Mizelle, the Justice Department’s chief of staff, argued during the hearing, "The president of the United States … is authorized under the Constitution to find certain individuals and certain companies are not trustworthy with the nations’ secrets."
