Trump targets law firm Perkins Coie, strips security access over 2016 election role

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US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to suspend security clearances for Perkins Coie attorneys, accusing the firm of egregious activities and unethical practices. This action stems from the firm’s involvement in researching Trump-Russia connections during the 2016 election. Perkins Coie has declared the order unlawful and intends to challenge it.

US President Donald Trump announced on Thursday signed an executive order to suspend security clearances for attorneys at Perkins Coie, a law firm associated with Democratic-funded research during the 2016 campaign investigating potential Russian connections to the Republican candidate.

This action against Perkins Coie represents the latest in a series of punitive measures by Trump’s administration against perceived opponents, including Department of Justice prosecutors, intelligence professionals and private attorneys.

These actions suggest an effort to address past grievances whilst deterring future investigations into his activities.

“This is an absolute honor to sign. What they’ve done is just terrible. It’s weaponization — you could say weaponization against a political opponent, and it should never be allowed to happen again,” Trump stated during the Oval Office signing.

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. 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. In one such case, a court was forced to sanction Perkins Coie attorneys for an unethical lack of candor before the court.

The order directs relevant agency leaders to review and potentially suspend active security clearances held by Perkins Coie staff. It additionally restricts the firm’s attorneys’ access to government facilities and requires identification and termination of government contracts with the firm.

The firm responded with a statement: “We have reviewed the Executive Order. It is patently unlawful, and we intend to challenge it.”

How is Trump and Coie’s relationship?

The action stems from Perkins Coie’s engagement of Fusion GPS for research into Trump-Russia connections. Marc Elias, formerly Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign lawyer at Perkins Coie, arranged this collaboration.

Fusion GPS subsequently employed Christopher Steele, whose controversial dossier circulated in Washington. The dossier suggested Russian efforts to assist Trump and claimed existence of compromising information.

Special counsel John Durham’s 2023 report indicated that FBI investigators could not verify the dossier’s claims. However, Steele maintains the validity of his work.

The dossier caused controversy in January 2017 when then-FBI Director James Comey briefed Trump about the allegations. The revelation of Democratic funding further questioned the research’s credibility.

While Trump uses the dossier to challenge the Russia investigation’s legitimacy, the inquiry began independently, based on separate information about potential Russian possession of Clinton-related information.

The Mueller investigation, whilst not establishing criminal conspiracy, identified significant Russian electoral interference favouring Trump and campaign receptiveness to such assistance.

The administration has dismissed prosecutors involved in Jack Smith’s Trump investigations and revoked clearances of lawyers supporting Smith and intelligence officials who commented on the Hunter Biden laptop matter.

The order additionally challenges Perkins Coie’s diversity, equity and inclusion practices, following Attorney General Pam Bondi’s directive to investigate and penalise certain DEI activities in private and educational sectors receiving federal funding.

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