A federal judge has for the second time struck down President Donald Trump’s effort to punish a law firm by stripping it of its ability to do business with the government.
U.S. District Judge John D. Bates ruled Friday that the executive order targeting Jenner & Block violates constitutional guarantees of speech and right-to-counsel and cannot legally be enforced.
The decision by Bates, who was appointed by President George W. Bush, follows a similar ruling in favor of law firm Perkins Coie earlier this month in a separate challenge to Trump’s orders seeking to penalize law firms he perceives as hostile.
“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.
Trump sought to punish Jenner & Block because a former member of the firm — Andrew Weissmann — played a role in the investigation of his links to Russia during the 2016 presidential campaign.
Weissmann, who has not worked at Jenner & Block since 2021, has been a vocal Trump critic and a prominent legal analyst on MSNBC during Trump’s multiple criminal cases.
Trump’s executive order targeting the firm directed federal agencies to cut contracts with the firm, suspend their security clearances and block them from federal buildings. Bates said it put Jenner & Block in the position of choosing between its constitutional rights and its livelihood.
“In short, the order raises constitutional eyebrows many times over,” he said.
Jenner & Block praised the ruling in a statement that called the executive order an “unconstitutional attack” on the firm.
“This ruling demonstrates the importance of lawyers standing firm on behalf of clients and for the law,” it said.
It was not clear whether the administration would appeal. The Department of Justice did not immediately respond to request for comment.
