A federal judge has issued a temporary restraining order blocking President Donald Trump’s recent executive action that sought to revoke security clearances from employees of Perkins Coie, a prominent Washington law firm with ties to the controversial Steele dossier investigation.
U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell made the ruling on March 12, just one day after Perkins Coie filed a lawsuit challenging Trump’s March 6 executive order. The firm argued that the president’s actions violated their constitutional rights to free speech, free association, and due process.
The executive order targeted Perkins Coie for its role during the 2016 presidential election, when the firm received over $1 million from Hillary Clinton’s campaign and the Democratic National Committee to engage Fusion GPS for opposition research. The order also cited concerns about the firm’s diversity, equity, and inclusion workplace policies.
Beyond revoking security clearances, Trump’s order aimed to terminate existing federal contracts with Perkins Coie and its clients, while also restricting the firm’s access to government officials. The impact was swift, with the firm reporting that seven clients, including a major government contractor, had already begun withdrawing legal work or signaled intentions to do so, resulting in substantial revenue losses.
The controversy stems from Perkins Coie’s involvement in the 2016 election, when Fusion GPS, using the firm’s funding, hired former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele to investigate alleged connections between Trump’s campaign and Russia. The resulting Steele dossier, published by BuzzFeed News in 2017 without Steele’s authorization, contained numerous unverified claims that drew criticism from journalism professionals.
While subsequent investigations by U.S. intelligence agencies and Special Counsel Robert Mueller confirmed some broader aspects of the dossier – such as Russian efforts to influence the election and certain Trump associates – many specific allegations were later discredited. No formal charges of Russian conspiracy were ever brought against Trump’s campaign team.
This isn’t the first time Trump has targeted law firms involved in investigations against him. In February, he issued a similar order affecting Covington & Burling LLP, which had connections to former special counsel Jack Smith’s Trump investigations.
The temporary block on Trump’s order comes after his previous legal action against Clinton, Perkins Coie, and others, in which he alleged conspiracy to rig the 2016 election. That lawsuit was dismissed by a Florida federal judge in 2022.
Perkins Coie’s lawsuit detailed immediate consequences of Trump’s order, including government officials blocking or discouraging the firm’s attorneys from participating in meetings. The judge’s temporary restraining order provides immediate relief while the broader legal challenge to Trump’s executive action proceeds through the courts.
The case highlights ongoing tensions between Trump and legal entities involved in previous investigations of his campaign and presidency, while raising questions about the extent of executive authority to restrict private law firms’ operations based on their past political work and internal policies.