A federal judge has blocked an executive order by President Donald Trump targeting Jenner & Block, a law firm known for its work on progressive issues and its ties to Special Counsel Robert Muller’s Russia probe.
U.S. District Judge John Bates—a Republican appointee—found that the March order violated the Constitution, ruling that it was motivated Mueller bias against the firm’s clients and values, Reuters reported.
“It picked Jenner because of the causes Jenner champions, the clients Jenner represents, and a lawyer once employed,” Bates wrote, calling it a “doubly violative” breach of constitutional protections, including the First Amendment right to free speech.
Trump’s March 25 executive order accused Jenner of engaging in “lawfare” and attacked its internal diversity policies, pro bono work for immigrants and transgender people, and its former employment of prosecutor Andrew Weissmann. Weissmann played a key role in the Mueller investigation, which Trump has repeatedly derided as a “hoax.”
“My administration is committed to addressing the significant risks associated with law firms… that engage in conduct detrimental to critical American interests,“ the order read. ”Jenner & Block LLP (Jenner) is yet another law firm that has abandoned the profession’s highest ideals, condoned partisan ‘lawfare,’ and abused its pro bono practice to engage in activities that undermine justice and the interests of the United States.”
The order was designed to “chill legal representation the administration doesn’t like, thereby insulating the Executive Branch from the judicial check fundamental to the separation of powers,” Bates argued.
The Friday ruling mirrors an earlier May 2 decision that struck down similar orders against the international law firm Perkins Coie. Jenner sued to block the order, arguing it limited free speech and due process rights by punishing legal advocacy the administration dislikes.
The move speaks to a wider fracturing of the legal profession as firms pick sides amid the Trump administration’s attacks. At least four firms—Jenner, Perkins, WilmerHale, and Susan Godfrey—have filed suits to block Trump’s executive orders. At the same time, several others, including Skadden Arps and Simpson Thatcher, have pledged free legal support for causes endorsed by the White House in an effort to avoid being targeted.
The Justice Department, helmed by Pam Bondi, which has defended the orders as legitimate exercises of presidential authority, has not yet publicly commented on the ruling and has been contacted for a response. The White House has also so far remained silent on the ruling.
The Trump administration is expected to appeal to the D.C. Circuit.
