Trump administration appeals Jenner & Block win over executive order

The Justice Department on Monday appealed a federal judge’s order blocking President Trump’s punitive executive order against the law firm Jenner & Block.

The notice of appeal is the Trump administration's second such challenge to Big Law firms' legal victories against orders that sought to undercut their business as retribution for ties to the president's political adversaries. The administration appealed Perkins Coie's win in the courts last month, meaning either could become an appeals court’s first chance to weigh the directives.

Jenner & Block was one of six law firms targeted by Trump. The firm previously employed Andrew Weissmann, a prominent Trump critic and legal pundit who worked on former special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

The orders cut off employees' security clearances and access to federal government facilities, while also directing the executive branch to review any contracts the government has with the firm, all in the name of "addressing risks" to the country.

U.S. District Judge John Bates, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, slammed Trump’s order against Jenner & Block as an effort to “chill legal representation the administration doesn’t like" in his ruling finding the directive unlawful.

He said such efforts insulate the executive branch from checks by the judiciary, which he called "fundamental" to the separation of powers.

The Trump administration has argued that it’s within the president’s discretion to decide with whom to trust the nation’s secrets and that the order was designed to assuage his concerns about the firms.

Four firms have filed legal action challenging Trump's orders: Jenner & Block, Perkins Coie, WilmerHale and Susman Godfrey. Judges ruled in the firms' favor in each of their legal challenges.

Other firms, targeted or not, struck deals with Trump to be spared from executive action or accepted the penalty silently.  

Trump rescinded his order against the law firm Paul, Weiss after it agreed to dedicate equal to $40 million in pro bono legal services to support administration initiatives; eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion policies; and not deny representation to clients on the basis of their political views.

At least nine law firms followed suit, resulting in nearly $1 billion in promised free legal work on causes aligned with the administration in exchange for no orders. Democratic members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee are investigating the deals.

In a statement following the notice of appeal, Jenner & Block said Bates did not err.

"The district court correctly declared that Jenner’s clients have a right to independent counsel and that the firm’s right to represent clients vigorously and without compromise is sacred," the statement posted to Jenner & Block's website reads. "We look forward to confirming this on appeal."