Future Retirement Success
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Investing
  • Stocks
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Investing
  • Stocks

Future Retirement Success

Investing

Trump Punishes Large Law Firm for Representing His Adversary

by February 26, 2025
February 26, 2025
Trump Punishes Large Law Firm for Representing His Adversary

Walter Olson

President Donald Trump has moved to strip security clearances from lawyers at the storied international law firm of Covington & Burling to punish it for providing legal assistance to former special counsel Jack Smith, who led the federal prosecution of Trump over Jan. 6, the New York Times reports. The move is an extraordinary attack on the independence of the bar and bids to chill the willingness of many lawyers to take on as clients and zealously advocate for the interests of those Trump considers his enemies. 

The Times reports:

According to a disclosure filed with the Justice Department shortly before resigning as special counsel ahead of Mr. Trump’s return to office, Mr. Smith, a former war crimes prosecutor, said that he had received $140,000 worth of free legal advice from Covington to help him prepare for investigations and legal action by Mr. Trump’s allies.

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

Trump has already moved to revoke the security clearances of a variety of perceived political foes, typically, as here, offering no evidence that those clearances have been misused in any way harmful to national security. The list includes national security lawyer Mark Zaid, who has represented clients adverse to Trump’s interests in high-profile cases. Loss of a security clearance will often prevent a lawyer from effectively representing clients in cases where evidence is classified.

Should the vengeful chief executive keep on stripping clearances from lawyers he sees as assisting opponents, the question becomes: what then will remain of the independence of the national security bar? Will a whistleblowing former employee of a national security agency be left to choose among whatever counsel Trump regards as politically reliable? 

Judges are not without ways to temper some of the more extreme possible consequences; for example, if the government prosecutes a defendant for alleged national security offenses and no lawyer representing that defendant is allowed to examine classified evidence, the judge may exclude the evidence in the interests of fairness. But it would be dangerous to rely on such backup methods to remedy the loss of an independent and qualified bar willing to stand up to authority. 

And the implications go far beyond the practice of national security law. Anyone can find themselves in a fight with Trump or his allies on almost any topic under the sun, and the question is whether the counsel representing you in that dispute has to fear being made the next Covington, set as an example, for having engaged in zealous advocacy. 

Trump has crossed a line. He is now using the powers of his office, and openly too, to punish a law firm for representing someone. How will the legal profession respond?

0
FacebookTwitterGoogle +Pinterest
previous post
CDC seems to defy Trump executive order by participating in WHO vaccine conference
next post
New Trump Administration Proposals Would Increase US Shipping Costs to Punish China for Alleged Maritime Misdeeds

You may also like

New Poll: Americans Want Congress to Pair Tax...

April 14, 2025

Access to Methadone Treatment Is Pathetically Low

June 28, 2024

New Defending Globalization Essays: China Then; China Now;...

October 10, 2023

The Price of Shortsightedness: Emergency Spending’s $2 Trillion...

March 7, 2024

Ballot Disqualification: The Stakes

February 8, 2024

SCOTUS Decision Against Religious Charter Is Right, But...

May 22, 2025

To Head Off Strongman Governance, Keep Presidential Power...

January 31, 2024

The Government Can’t Revoke a Visa Because of...

April 30, 2025

Spending Madness 2024 Contest

March 18, 2024

The Inflation Reduction Act after Two Years: Spending...

August 16, 2024

    Get free access to all of the retirement secrets and income strategies from our experts! or Join The Exclusive Subscription Today And Get the Premium Articles Acess for Free

    By opting in you agree to receive emails from us and our affiliates. Your information is secure and your privacy is protected.

    Recent Posts

    • Elon Musk may speak to Trump aides in push to calm feud

      June 6, 2025
    • Everyone Talks About Leaving a Better Planet for Our Children: Why Don’t We Leave Better Children for Our Planet?

      June 6, 2025
    • MARK HALPERIN: Democrats try to construct a Frankenstein candidate while JD Vance gains momentum for 2028

      June 6, 2025
    • ‘Gone too far’: GOP lawmakers rally around Trump after Musk raises Epstein allegations

      June 6, 2025
    • Democrats begin to embrace Musk amid Trump spat after party railed against him as a ‘dictator’

      June 6, 2025
    • Trump administration defends US and Israeli sovereignty with new sanctions against four ICC judges

      June 5, 2025

    Categories

    • Business (8,149)
    • Investing (2,011)
    • Politics (15,544)
    • Stocks (3,130)
    • About us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms & Conditions

    Disclaimer: futureretirementsuccess.com, its managers, its employees, and assigns (collectively “The Company”) do not make any guarantee or warranty about what is advertised above. Information provided by this website is for research purposes only and should not be considered as personalized financial advice. The Company is not affiliated with, nor does it receive compensation from, any specific security. The Company is not registered or licensed by any governing body in any jurisdiction to give investing advice or provide investment recommendation. Any investments recommended here should be taken into consideration only after consulting with your investment advisor and after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company.

    Copyright © 2025 futureretirementsuccess.com | All Rights Reserved