Judge temporarily blocks parts of Trump's executive order seeking to
punish law firm Perkins Coie
[March 13, 2025]
By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge blocked President Donald Trump's
administration Wednesday from enforcing portions of an executive order
designed to punish a prominent law firm linked to Democratic-funded
opposition research during the 2016 presidential campaign into ties
between the Republican candidate and Russia.
U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell in Washington granted a temporary
restraining order sought by the firm, Perkins Coie, one day after it
filed a federal lawsuit alleging it’s being illegally targeted because
of its legal work. The judge said the president's action sends a
chilling message that lawyers can be punished for representing clients
or advancing views unfavorable to the administration.
“Such a circumstance threatens the very foundation of our legal system,"
said Howell, who was nominated to the bench by Democratic President
Barack Obama. “Our justice system is based on the fundamental belief
that justice works best when all parties have zealous advocates.”
Perkins Coie called the judge's ruling “an important first step in
ensuring this unconstitutional Executive Order is never enforced.”
“We will follow the court’s direction regarding next steps and will
continue to challenge the Executive Order, which threatens our firm, our
clients, and core constitutional protections important to all
Americans,” a firm spokesperson said.
The order came during an extraordinary court hearing in which Attorney
General Pam Bondi’s chief of staff, Chad Mizelle, defended the latest in
a series of retributive moves targeting the president’s perceived
adversaries. It’s highly unusual for such a high-ranking Justice
Department official to argue on behalf of the government in the trial
court.
Mizelle, who's also serving as the acting associate attorney general,
argued that the president has the clear authority to take action against
entities he believes present a threat to national security.
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“If that means excluding individuals that are no longer trustworthy
with the nation's secrets, that’s a bedrock principle of our
republic,” Mizelle said.
Perkins Coie says it's already suffering financial consequences of
the order, which calls for limiting firm employees' access to
federal buildings and terminating any government contacts of its
clients. The judge's temporary restraining order doesn't block the
administration from enforcing another provision that seeks to strip
Perkins Coie attorneys of security clearances.
Perkins Coie says all 15 of its top clients have government
contracts, and several clients have already ended their legal
arrangements with the firm or threatened to do so. Dane Butswinkas,
an attorney representing Perkins Coie, said keeping the order in
place will “spell the end of the law firm.”
“This executive order takes a wrecking ball to the rule of law, to
the principles that promote democracy,” Butswinkas said.
Perkins Coie represented the 2016 presidential campaign of
Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, Trump’s opponent, and also
represented Democrats in a variety of voting rights challenges
during the 2020 election. The firm made headlines in 2017 when it
was revealed to have hired a private investigative research firm
during the 2016 campaign to conduct opposition research on Trump.
That firm, Fusion GPS, subsequently retained a former British spy,
Christopher Steele, who researched whether Trump and Russia had
suspicious ties.
Trump had sued the law firm in 2022, along with Clinton, FBI
officials and other defendants, as a part of a sprawling complaint
alleging a massive conspiracy to concoct the Russia investigation
that shadowed much of his administration. The suit was dismissed.
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