Judge Blocks Trump's Order With 'Tone of Open Fury'

President Trump's attempts to punish law firms for political reasons failed for the third time this month when a federal judge on Tuesday struck down his executive order sanctioning WilmerHale. And Judge Richard Leon did it with flair, notes CNBC, which writes that Leon "suffused his 73-page order with a tone of open fury rarely seen in judicial pronouncements." The Daily Beast reports there were more than two dozen exclamation points used throughout the order. A sampling:

• "The cornerstone of the American system of justice is an independent judiciary and an independent bar willing to tackle unpopular cases, however daunting. The Founding Fathers knew this!"
• In response to the administration's assertion that WilmerHale was simply speculating when it claimed the order harmed it: "Please—that dog won't hunt!"
• In response to the administration pushing back on the idea that the order caused the firm's client numbers to sink: "This argument is absurd!"
• "The Order shouts through a bullhorn: If you take on causes disfavored by President Trump, you will be punished!"

• Background: The AP reports a number of the firms in Trump's crosshairs either handled legal work that displeased Trump or had ties to prosecutors who previously investigated him. That's the case with WilmerHale; Trump's order referenced the fact that the firm previously employed former Justice Department special counsel Robert Mueller, who handled the investigation into possible Russian interference in the 2016 election. The order sought to impose sanctions like barring entry for employees to federal buildings.
• Context: The ruling followed a similar one Friday from another judge regarding Jenner & Block and an initial one from earlier in the month that sided with Perkins Coie. The AP's view: "Taken together, the decisions have marked a blunt repudiation of Trump's actions, which the law firms have called an affront to the legal system and inconsistent with the foundational principle that lawyers can represent clients or causes without government reprisal."

(More President Trump stories.)