President Trump's attempts to punish law firms for political reasons failed for the second time on Friday when a federal judge permanently struck down his executive order sanctioning Jenner & Block. DC District Judge John Bates ruled Trump's order an unconstitutional abuse of presidential power, Bloomberg Law reports. "This order, like the others, seeks 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 wrote.
The firm had sued Trump after he sought to strip it of government contracts and its lawyers of access to federal buildings and officials, per the Washington Post. The order singled out former partner Andrew Weissmann, who worked on special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into accusations of Russian interference in the 2016 election, for criticism. Perkins Coie, WilmerHale, and Susman Godfrey also sued over Trump's orders and have had judges at least temporarily block most of the punishments the president sought. Perkins Coie won a ruling similar to the one in the Jenner & Block case.
Bates, who was appointed by President George W. Bush, went beyond his temporary pause on the executive order while the case was being considered. This time, he overturned every part of Trump's order, per CNN. "The challenged executive order targets Jenner for what it has said and thereby attempts to dampen what it might yet say," Bates wrote. "That is unconstitutional under any view of the First Amendment." The Trump administration did not immediately announce whether it will appeal the ruling. (More President Trump stories.)
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