President Donald Trump signed an executive order targeting the law firm Susman Godfrey LLP (Susman), which represented Dominion Voting Systems in its defamation lawsuit against Fox News.
“Susman spearheads efforts to weaponize the American legal system and degrade the quality of American elections,” Trump’s order says. “Susman also funds groups that engage in dangerous efforts to undermine the effectiveness of the United States military through the injection of political and radical ideology, and it supports efforts to discriminate on the basis of race. Susman itself engages in unlawful discrimination, including discrimination on the basis of race.”
The order directs Trump’s administration to suspend any security clearances held by Susman. Government contracting agencies are also directed to “require Government contractors to disclose any business they do with Susman and whether that business is related to the subject of the Government contract.”
Susman Godfrey said in response to the order, “Anyone who knows Susman Godfrey knows we believe in the rule of law, and we take seriously our duty to uphold it. This principle guides us now. There is no question that we will fight this unconstitutional order.”
Law firms Jenner & Block and WilmerHale, which lost their security clearances in previous executive orders, have filed lawsuits alleging the revocations are unconstitutional.
According to Jenner & Block’s lawsuit, Trump’s executive order “sanctions Jenner for its representation of clients in cases adverse to the government, for its prior association with an individual who has not worked at the Firm in four years but has been critical of the President, and for its hiring practices.” Jenner further claimed that the order violates the First Amendment, the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment, and the Sixth Amendment’s right to counsel.
WilmerHale wrote in its lawsuit that the “First Amendment protects the rights of WilmerHale, its employees, and its clients to speak freely, petition the courts and other government institutions, and associate with the counsel of their choice without facing retaliation and discrimination by federal officials.”
