Trump's orders targeting law firms raise constitutional concerns, experts say

[Eugene]

Earlier DU threads:
• Trump targets prominent Democratic-linked law firm
• Trump executive order targets Seattle's largest law firm

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Source: Reuters

Trump's orders targeting law firms raise constitutional concerns, experts say

Mike Scarcella
Sat, March 8, 2025 at 6:30 AM EST 6 min read

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Donald Trump's executive orders terminating security clearances and taking other actions against two prominent law firms may violate constitutional protections and represent exceptional acts of retribution against lawyers who have crossed him in the past, according to legal experts.

The two firms targeted by the Republican president have represented Trump adversaries. Perkins Coie represented the campaign of 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, who Trump defeated in his first presidential run. Covington currently represents Jack Smith, the special counsel appointed during Democratic former President Joe Biden's administration who brought criminal charges against Trump in two cases.

Legal experts interviewed by Reuters said the manner in which Trump targeted the firms could run afoul of the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment protections against government abridgment of speech and Fifth Amendment guarantee of due process - a requirement for the government to use a fair legal process.

Trump on Thursday directed Attorney General Pam Bondi, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and all U.S. agency chiefs to restrict access by lawyers at Perkins Coie, a firm founded in Seattle, to federal buildings and end their security clearances.

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Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/news/trumps-orders-targeting-law-firms-113029239.html