A federal judge on Wednesday temporarily frozen some of President Trump's executive orders targeting law firm Perkins Koy.
US District Judge Beryl Howell, former President Obama appointee, temporarily blocked the administration from blocking Perkins' COIE officials from entering the federal government building and requiring government contractors to disclose whether they would make a deal with the company.
Howell said Trump's orders are likely to violate the initial amendment for retaliation for protected speeches, which also likely violated the protection of due process and Perkinskoy's client's Sixth Amendment Rights.
She compares the president to the Queen of Hearts in “Alice in Wonderland,” and enjoys reading about the explosion of the Rush Queen “with her head!” – under our constitution, “cannot be the reality we live in.”
“Whether the president hates his company's clients or not, he dislikes the position of law firms taking those clients in a fierce expression, or the outcomes Perkins Coie has achieved for his clients,” Howell said, “I dislikes filing a lawsuit based on an executive position that targets the company and targets the company based on the exclusion of the president's political position.”
At the request of the law firm, the temporary restraining order addresses only three of the six sections of the order. This is an effort to address only the “most immediate” harm in the early stages of this lawsuit.
Neither Trump's decision to revoke his lawyer's security clearance nor addressing the Equal Employment Opportunity Committee's chairman to investigate “large law firms” that violate potential civil rights laws.
Wednesday's hearing came the day after Perkins Koy sued the administration in his March 6 executive order.“We are addressing the risks from Perkins Coie LLP.”
Perkins Koy advised Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential election, and has long drawn Trump's rage over his dealings with Fusion GPS.
But his recent executive order is the president's most drastic target.
“I'm sure many of the legal professions are watching with fear what Perkins Koy is experiencing here,” Howell said at a hearing Wednesday.
Dane Butswinkas, the company's representative lawyer, equated Trump's order with a “tsunami waiting to collide.”
He said the law firm has lost its clients “everyday” since the order was implemented, and the order will affect not only the company's 1,200 lawyers, but the roughly 2,500 non-scholars working there.
“It's really life-threatening,” he said.
Attorney General Pam Bondy, Chad Mizzell, who argued on behalf of the government, called the law firm's statements “What IFS, Boogeymans, Ghosts.”
He urged the judge to refuse the temporary injunctive relief sought and instead to postpone Trump's “clear Article 2 powers.”
“It's basically a presidential privilege and the courts can't review it… whether someone can trust the secrets of the country,” Misell said.
“The president made that discovery here,” he said.
Howell told Misell that the government's position would “send small chills” to his spine. It suggests that if the president is against the interests of the country, he or she can bar the president or company from entering business with the government or entering buildings.
“It's a pretty extraordinary force for the president to exercise,” the judge said.
Trump's order marked a second order during his new term in pursuit of a large law firm he recognizes as his enemy.
Trump has also moved to limit security clearance for some Covington lawyers on legal support for former special advisor Jack Smith, who brought two criminal cases against Trump. Covington is not yet trying to challenge the order.
Perkins Coie is represented by Williams & Connolly, an elite law firm known for its aggressive battle with the federal government.
Howell calls the company “very brave” and recognizes it as “the next one could be like this.”
