On March 6, Donald Trump signed an executive order targeting Perkins Coie LLP, a law firm with which he has had longstanding issues since his 2016 presidential campaign. The order alleges that Perkins Coie’s “dishonest and dangerous” activities have “affected this country for decades.” The order claims that the law firm worked with Hillary Clinton in 2016 and falsified information to “steal” the election.
Excerpts from the order read, “The dishonest and dangerous activity of the law firm Perkins Coie LLP (“Perkins Coie”) has affected this country for decades. Notably, in 2016 while representing failed Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, Perkins Coie hired Fusion GPS, which then manufactured a false “dossier” designed to steal an election.”
The dossier that the order refers to is the Steele dossier, which contains allegations of Donald Trump’s connection with Russia.
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It further alleges that the firm has a pattern of working with individuals who have intended to “judicially overturn popular, necessary, and democratically enacted election laws.” Excerpts read, “This egregious activity is part of a pattern. Perkins Coie has worked with activist donors including George Soros to judicially overturn popular, necessary, and democratically enacted election laws, including those requiring voter identification.”
The order also alleges Perkins Coie of racial discrimination through DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusive) programs.
The executive order lists actions that federal authorities are to carry out immediately. Firstly, the order suspends the law firm’s security clearances. A review will be conducted to see whether the clearances align with national interests.
The order then directs federal agencies to identify and terminate contracts with Perkins Coie, to the extent permitted by law, especially where the firm has been hired to perform services. Lastly, government contractors are to disclose any business dealings with Perkins Coie. Agencies are instructed to review these relationships and align funding decisions with national interests and administrative priorities.
President Donald Trump, while signing the order at the Oval Office, said, “This is an absolute honor to sign. What they’ve done is terrible. It’s a weaponization, you can say weaponization against a political opponent and it should never be allowed to happen again.”
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Perkins Coie LLP isn’t the first law firm to be targeted by the Donald Trump Administration, though. Towards the end of February, the President signed an executive order scrapping the security clearances of Covington & Burling over its connections to Jack Smith, a former special counsel who has indicted Donald Trump twice during the 4-year timeframe when he was a civilian.
