Law firm Jenner & Block sues over Trump executive order, becoming second firm to do so

WASHINGTON (AP) — A prominent law firm targeted by President Donald Trump sued on Friday to block an executive order that threatens its federal contracts and the security clearances of its employees.

Jenner & Block says the executive order, one in a series of White House decrees over the last month meant to punish the legal community, is unconstitutional and that it expects to “prevail quickly.” It said it had no interest in “capitulating to unconstitutional government coercion,” a perhaps veiled reference to a deal struck last week with the White House by another targeted firm, Paul Weiss.

“The Order threatens not only Jenner, but also its clients and the legal system itself,” the complaint says. "Our Constitution, top to bottom, forbids attempts by the government to punish citizens and lawyers based on the clients they represent, the positions they advocate, the opinions they voice, and the people with whom they associate.”

The executive order against Jenner & Block this week stemmed from the fact that the firm once employed Andrew Weissmann, a lawyer who served on special counsel Robert Mueller’s team that investigated Trump during his first term in office. Weissmann left the firm four years ago.

The firm is the second to sue over a Trump executive order, following the path of Perkins Coie, which succeeded this month in getting a judge to block portions of it from being implemented.

Other firms that have faced similar orders include Covington & Burling and most recently WilmerHale, a firm connected to Mueller and several of his top aides.