Trump Targets the Law Firm Representing the Special Counsel Who Investigated Him

Donald Trump has threatened retribution against former Special Counsel Jack Smith, who investigated and indicted Trump for his attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Trump is now trying to deprive Smith of the right to counsel by punishing the law firm that represents him.

The New York Times reports:

President Trump said on Tuesday that he would strip security clearances from lawyers at a prominent Washington law firm aiding a former special counsel who investigated him and end any federal government work the firm may have, intensifying his bid to punish perceived rivals. …

The directive ordered the administration to revoke any security clearance held by Peter Koski, the Covington [& Burling] lawyer representing Mr. Smith, and any other members of the firm who may have participated in such work. …

Revoking his clearance could limit his access to sensitive government records, given that both of Mr. Smith’s criminal investigations against Mr. Trump involved classified documents. Doing so could sharply limit what representation Mr. Koski might be able to offer.

This is about much more than Jack Smith. Lawyers who take national security cases cannot work without a security clearance. This is an attempt to discourage any firm or lawyer that regularly deals with important federal cases from representing Trump’s perceived enemies.

The Executive Watch is a project of the Institute for the Study of Modern Authoritarianism, and its flagship publication The UnPopulist, to track in an ongoing way the abuses of the power of the American presidency. It sorts these abuses into five categories: Personal Grift, Political Corruption, Presidential Retribution, Power Consolidation, and Policy Illegality. Click the category of interest to get an overview of all the abuses under it.

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