A federal court in Washington DC appears to have put the brakes on president Donald Trump’s attempt to punish a law firm for political reasons.
An executive order signed by Trump last week sought to place sweeping restrictions on the global firm Perkins Coie, citing its ‘dishonest and dangerous activity’ in representing presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in 2016. The order stopped the firm from doing business with federal contractors and denied lawyers access to government officials and buildings.
Perkins Coie, which opened a UK office last year, issued proceedings against the US government, calling the order ‘an affront to the constitution and our adversarial system of justice’.
The Perkins Coie filing continued: ‘[The order’s] plain purpose is to bully those who advocate points of view that the President perceives as adverse to the views of his administration.’
Following a hearing on Wednesday, US District Judge Beryl Howell granted the firm’s request for a temporary restraining order against Trump’s order, adding that the legal profession was ‘watching in horror’ at developments in the White House.
Perkins Coie said Howell’s ruling was ‘an important first step in ensuring this unconstitutional executive order is never enforced’.
