WASHINGTON — On Tuesday, President Trump took action to suspend the security clearances of lawyers at Covington & Burling, a well-known Washington D.C. law firm. This move is seen as retaliation for their legal work with special counsel Jack Smith, and part of Trump’s ongoing effort to address past criminal investigations he faced prior to regaining the presidency.
Trump’s memorandum, signed at the White House, targets Covington & Burling shortly after it came to light that they provided free legal assistance to Smith. Smith had previously brought two criminal cases against Trump, which were later dropped following Trump’s victory in the November election.
Covington & Burling is an international law firm that employs figures such as former Attorney General Eric Holder and Lanny Breuer, a former Justice Department official who appointed Smith to head the Public Integrity Section in 2010. An individual with knowledge of the matter stated that the firm was not involved in Smith’s investigation of Trump. This person requested anonymity due to not being authorized to comment.
The firm stated on Tuesday that it recently agreed to represent Smith “when it became apparent that he would become subject of a government investigation.”
According to a firm spokesperson, “Covington is representing Jack Smith in his personal, individual capacity. We are eager to defend Mr. Smith’s interests and appreciate the confidence he has placed in us to do so.”
This action reflects Trump’s desire to seek retribution against those he perceives as his political adversaries, particularly Smith. After signing the directive, Trump joked about sending the pen he used to Smith, which drew laughter in the Oval Office.
This isn’t the first instance of Trump, while president, attempting to revoke the security clearances of individuals in Washington who have angered him.
For example, the previous month, he took steps to revoke the clearances of over forty former intelligence officials who had signed a letter suggesting that the Hunter Biden laptop story had characteristics of a Russian disinformation campaign.
The memo instructs Attorney General Pam Bondi to suspend any active security clearances held by Peter Koski, who represents Smith, as well as “all members, partners, and employees” of Covington who aided Smith during his tenure as special counsel. The suspensions are “pending a review and determination of their roles and responsibilities, if any, in the weaponization of the judicial process.”
When questioned by a reporter on Tuesday regarding the targeting of the law firm, Trump responded, “I’ve been targeted for four years, longer than that, so don’t you tell me about targeting. I was the target of corrupt politicians for four years and then four years after that, so don’t talk to me about targeting.”
A financial disclosure form filed by Smith, as reported by Politico earlier in the month, showed that Smith declared receiving $140,000 in pro bono legal services from Covington & Burling before his departure from the position in January, following more than two years in the role.
This action, following the dismissals of members of Smith’s team, seems intended to discourage lawyers and prominent law firms from offering legal support to investigators who scrutinized Trump. Many of these investigators, like Smith, have sought their own legal representation.
Bondi and other Republicans have asserted that the Justice Department, under President Biden, has been “weaponized” against conservatives and Trump in particular. As one of her initial actions in office, Bondi announced the establishment of a “weaponization working group” to examine Smith’s work and the prosecutors and law enforcement personnel involved in what Bondi’s memo described as the “unprecedented raid on President Trump’s home.”
Smith was appointed in November 2022 by then-Attorney General Merrick Garland to oversee ongoing investigations into Trump’s retention of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida and his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
Both inquiries led to indictments, although the classified documents case was dismissed by a judge who deemed Smith’s appointment unlawful, and the election interference prosecution was significantly limited by a Supreme Court opinion last summer.
Smith dismissed both cases shortly after Trump’s election victory in November, citing the Justice Department’s longstanding policy against prosecuting a sitting president.