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

Maui Wildfire Response Sure Looks Like Government Failure

August 21, 2023

Jones Act Loophole Allows Puerto Rico to Finally...

March 26, 2025

“Let Them Eat Fish”

January 17, 2025

Paul Krugman and the “Ersatz” Theory of Private...

July 29, 2022

“Foreign Debt” or “Foreign Investment”? How the Trade...

April 25, 2023

Rather Than Litigate Over Encampment Sweeps, San Francisco...

August 31, 2023

Canadian Court: Trudeau’s Use of Emergency Powers to...

January 24, 2024

Friday Feature: Streams of Hope Christian School

September 8, 2023

Joe Biden: Culture‐​Warrior‐​in‐​Chief

July 10, 2023

Government Reform: DOGE + E

November 21, 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

    • Top university degrees lose sway as tech employers prioritise job-ready skills

      June 29, 2025
    • Government urges supermarkets to make healthy food more appealing in bid to tackle obesity crisis

      June 29, 2025
    • Senate Republicans ram Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ through key test vote

      June 29, 2025
    • Chief Justice Roberts sounds alarm on dangerous rhetoric aimed at judges from politicians

      June 29, 2025
    • Britain’s fastest-growing firms revealed for 2025: Dfyne, Nala’s Baby and Hawkstone lead the charge

      June 29, 2025
    • Schumer to force Senate reading of Trump’s entire ‘big, beautiful bill’

      June 28, 2025

    Categories

    • Business (8,332)
    • Investing (2,081)
    • Politics (15,853)
    • Stocks (3,177)
    • 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