US president Donald Trump has issued sanctions against a fourth firm as he vowed to tackle the ‘significant risks’ posed to the American people by the legal sector.

In an executive order issued yesterday, Trump ruled that security clearances and government contracts be cancelled for Chicago-headquartered Jenner & Block.

In particular, the president criticised the firm’s hiring of Andrew Weissmann after his involvement in the Robert Mueller investigation into Trump. The executive order said that the employment of Weissmann was a ‘concerning indictment’ of Jenner’s values and priorities.

Trump added that Jenner was ‘yet another law firm that has abandoned the profession’s highest ideals’ and undermined justice and the interests of the US. The president continued: ‘Jenner engages in obvious partisan representations to achieve political ends, supports attacks against women and children based on a refusal to accept the biological reality of sex, and backs the obstruction of efforts to prevent illegal aliens from committing horrific crimes and trafficking deadly drugs within our borders.’

The US government has now issued four executive orders directly limiting security clearance and access to federal contracts for named law firms. One has since been rescinded after Paul, Weiss agreed to drop diversity commitments and pledge $40m to government-led pro bono initiatives.

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Using the executive order to make a wider comment on the legal profession, Trump accused some firms of taking actions that threaten public safety and national security, limit constitutional freedoms, degrade the quality of American elections and undermine bedrock American principles.

He added: ‘Law firms regularly conduct this harmful activity through their powerful pro bono practices, earmarking hundreds of millions of their clients’ dollars for destructive causes, that often directly or indirectly harm their own clients. Lawyers and law firms that engage in such egregious conduct should not have access to our nation’s secrets, nor should such conduct be subsidised by federal taxpayer funds or contracts.’

Under the order, security clearances held by Jenner employees will be immediately suspended, pending a review of whether their access to sensitive information is consistent with the national interest.

The federal government will halt all material and services access provided to Jenner and restrict its employees’ access to government buildings. Federal agencies will also refrain from hiring Jenner employees unless specifically authorised.

 

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