Judge strikes down Trump order against WilmerHale

A federal judge on Tuesday struck down President Trump’s executive order targeting the law firm WilmerHale, the third such ruling deeming the president’s pointed attacks against Big Law firms he perceives to be his enemies unconstitutional.

U.S. District Judge Richard Leon, appointed by George W. Bush, called an independent judiciary and bar willing to tackle unpopular cases the “cornerstone” of America’s justice system. Trump’s executive orders challenged the fundamental rights established to protect that independence, he said.

“This Order must be struck down in its entirety as unconstitutional,” Leon wrote in a 73-page opinion. “Indeed, to rule otherwise would be unfaithful to the judgment and vision of the Founding Fathers!”

The judge barred federal agencies from enforcing Trump’s order, which sought to limit the firm’s government contracts and its employees’ security clearances and access to government buildings. He issued the order on March 27, and WilmerHale sued the following day.

The law firm had employed special counsel Robert Mueller before and after his stint investigating Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, which Trump referenced in the order.

WilmerHale is one of several law firms targeted by Trump over their apparent ties to those he perceives to be his enemies.

The president named six firms in executive orders, but only four have filed legal action challenging the directives: WilmerHale, Jenner & Block, Perkins Coie, and Susman Godfrey. Judges struck down the orders targeting Jenner & Block and Perkins Coie, too, while Susman Godfrey’s legal challenge remains pending.

U.S. District Judge John Bates, another Bush appointee, said in his ruling in favor of Jenner & Block Friday that Trump’s order “seeks to chill legal representation the administration doesn’t like.”

Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell said Trump’s order against Perkins Coie “draws from a playbook as old as Shakespeare, who penned the phrase: ‘The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.’”

Other firms, targeted or not, struck deals with Trump to be spared an executive order or accepted the penalty silently.  

Trump issued an executive order against Paul, Weiss but later rescinded it after the firm agreed to dedicate equal to $40 million in pro bono legal services to support administration initiatives; eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion policies; and not deny representation to clients based on their political views.

After that, at least nine law firms cut deals with Trump to be spared an executive order. The president extracted nearly $1 billion in pro bono legal services.