President Donald Trump expanded his attacks on legal adversaries by signing an executive order targeting a particular law firm, the second to undergo such treatment. The latest order suspended security clearances for employees of the law firm Perkins Coie and targeted the firm's business with federal contractors, citing its political activities and diversity practices, Reuters reports. Founded in Seattle, Perkins Coie has faced longstanding criticism from Trump supporters for its previous work with Hillary Clinton, Trump's 2016 Democratic opponent. The order also directed federal officials to investigate other "large, influential, or industry leading law firms" over their compliance with laws against racial discrimination. "This executive order will suspend security clearances and access to certain federal resources for that law firm and also launch a holistic review of unlawful DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) practices at some of the nation's largest law firms," Trump aide Will Scharf said during an Oval Office signing event with reporters. Trump said it was "an absolute honor to sign" the order.
Perkins Coie in a statement said the executive order is "patently unlawful, and we intend to challenge it." Trump last week signed a similar order against another prominent law firm, Covington & Burling. In that order, security clearances were revoked for lawyers who provided free assistance to Jack Smith, the former U.S. special counsel who oversaw two criminal prosecutions against Trump. The president also directed federal agencies to review any contracts they have with Covington. The executive order targeting Perkins Coie went further, ordering agencies to require that federal contractors must disclose any business with the firm and saying contracts related to that business may be terminated. The order also said Perkins Coie employees' ability to access federal government buildings would be restricted to protect U.S. interests and national security. Perkins is involved in two lawsuits against the Trump administration, including one in Seattle federal court that challenges the White House's move to restrict transgender people from serving in the military. Legal scholars said they were not aware of a U.S. presidential administration ever taking such official actions against specific law firms in the past. Michael Frisch of Georgetown University's law school said it is a foundation of the legal profession that "everyone is entitled to a defense, and you don't judge a lawyer or law firm by the client that it chooses to legitimately and lawfully represent, and that's really under challenge right now."