Trump is Attacking Law Firms He Doesn't Like
This authoritarian move is just the start of a longer journey in the administration's retaliatory politics
There are many problems with the Trump administration. Whether it is illogically abandoning our ally Ukraine, idly threatening trade wars with our allies, or trying to shut down the Department of Education, President Trump has shown he has no business in the highest office in the country.1 2 To further bolster that point, The New York Times reports that Trump is retaliating against law firms he deems his enemies through new executive orders.3 4 5 6 This authoritarian approach is another example of why this administration must be opposed in every possible legal way. 7
The Attacks on Law Firms
On Thursday, March 6th, The White House released an executive order titled “Addressing Risks from Perkins Coie LLP” which punishes the law firm for supposed “dishonest and dangerous activity of the law firm.” The order blames the firm for supposedly attempting to “steal” the 2016 election through the Steele Dossier on behalf of Hillary Clinton.8 The order also requires any personnel affiliated with Perkins Coie to lose their security clearance.
As The New York Times’ Devlin Barrett explains:
With the order, Perkins Coie becomes the second such firm to be targeted by the president. Late last month, he signed a similar memorandum attacking Covington & Burling, which has done pro bono legal work for Jack Smith, who as special counsel pursued two separate indictments of Mr. Trump.
While the Covington memorandum sought to strip clearances and contracts from that firm, the Perkins Coie order goes much further, seeking to also limit its lawyers’ access to federal buildings, officials and jobs in a way that could cast a chilling effect over the entire legal profession.
The president’s animosity toward Perkins Coie dates back eight years, to when two lawyers at the firm, Marc Elias and Michael Sussmann, played roles in what eventually became an F.B.I. investigation to determine if anyone on the 2016 Trump presidential campaign conspired with Russian agents to influence the outcome of that election. Both lawyers left that firm years ago. 9
While the Steele Dossier has largely been debunked, it is worth noting that Trump is still holding onto grudges against two lawyers who are no longer associated with the firms he is now targeting. 10 One of those lawyers, Michael Sussman, was acquitted of any criminal wrongdoing after former Special Counsel John Durham pressed charges against him for allegedly lying to the FBI. 11
Even with all of those problems and some serious ethical quandaries for both Elias and Sussman, the reality remains that they are no longer associated with Perkins Coie, and Trump is still taking out his frustrations on them. Nor is this the first time that Trump has gone out of his way to attack law firms that anger him. Last month, the Trump administration issued a memorandum targeting Covington & Burling, a prominent firm that employs Democratic lawyers, many of whom were previously employed by the Obama and Biden administrations. 12
Under his new guidance, Trump ordered that the firm's personnel lose their security clearances. Among the lawyers who had their clearances revoked is Peter Koski, who represents Jack Smith, the former prosecutor who investigated and charged Trump with mishandling classified documents at Mar-A-Lago. 13
Retaliatory Politics
There is no way to not interpret this as a retaliatory attack on Trump’s enemies. The Trump administration, through its decision to restrict security clearances and access to federal buildings, demonstrates that it demands submission from a large swath of the American body politic and the legal system.
If there was ever a time to call out blatant revenge policies from an administration, now is the time. Trump is on a revenge tour against the very basic principles of our government and turning the administrative state into his personal fiefdom and using it against his political opponents. For all his talk of opposing weaponized government, Trump is showing that he is perfectly willing to weaponize the state against his perceived enemies. As the saying goes: “Every accusation is a confession.”
Alex Gangitano, “Donald Trump Threatens Increased Tariffs If Canada Retaliates,” Text, The Hill (blog), March 4, 2025, https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5175561-donald-trump-canada-increased-tariffs/.
Sara Dorn, “Trump Delays Mexico, Canada Auto Tariffs For One Month—Here’s How The New Levies Could Impact Prices,” Forbes, March 6, 2025, https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/trump-s-25-tariffs-on-canada-and-mexico-start-today-here-s-how-they-could-impact-prices/ar-AA1Aa7IA?ocid=BingNewsSerp.
Lara Jakes and Cassandra Vinograd, “Why Is Trump Pausing Aid to Ukraine? What to Know.,” The New York Times, March 4th, 2025, sec. World, https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/04/world/europe/trump-ukraine-aid.html.
Conor Kelly, “The United States Abandons Ukraine,” Substack Newsletter, The Progressive American with Conor Kelly (blog), September 21, 2023, https://www.progressiveamerican.net/p/the-united-states-abandons-ukraine.
Laura Meckler, “Trump to Sign Executive Order Calling for Closing Education De”t.,” The Washington Post, March 6th, 2025, https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2025/03/05/trump-close-education-department-executive-order/.
Conor Kelly, “Trump Is Trying to Shut Down the Department of Education,” Substack Newsletter, The Progressive American with Conor Kelly (blog), September 21st, 2023, https://www.progressiveamerican.net/p/trump-is-trying-to-shut-down-the.
Devlin Barrett, “Trump Ramps Up Attacks on Law Firms With Order Targeting Perki”s Coie,” The New York Times, March 6th, 2025, sec. U.S., https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/06/us/politics/trump-perkins-coie.html.
Donald Trump, “Addressing Risks from Perkins”Coie LLP,” The White House, March 6th, 2025, https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/addressing-risks-from-perkins-coie-llp/.
Devlin Barrett, “Trump Ramps Up Attacks on Law Firms With Order Targeting Perki”s Coie,” The New York Times, March 6th, 2025.
Lori Robertson, “Dossier Not What ‘Started All of This,’” FactCheck.Org (blog), March 27, 2019, https://www.factcheck.org/2019/03/dossier-not-what-started-all-of-this/.
Dareh Gregorian, “Michael Sussmann, Clinton’s Campaign Lawyer, Found Not Guilty in Durham Probe Case,” NBC News, May 31st, 2022, https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/clinton-campaign-lawyer-michael-sussmann-acquitted-charge-lying-fbi-rcna31262.
Alan Feuer et al., “Trump Takes Aim at Law Firm Aiding Jack Smith,” The New York Times, February 25, 2025, https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/25/us/trump-jack-smith-law-firm-security.html.
Jeremy Herb et al., “Donald Trump: Special Counsel Brings More Charges in Mar-a-Lago Classified Documents “ase | CNN Politics,” CNN, July 28th, 2023, https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/27/politics/trump-mar-a-lago-special-counsel/.