'Extraordinary': WSJ editorial scorches Trump for assault on 'bedrock' American principle

President Donald Trump violated a "bedrock legal principle" with his executive order stripping the well-respected law firm Perkins Coie of security clearances and access to federal buildings for their past representation of Democratic clients against his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, the conservative Wall Street Journal editorial board wrote in a furious analysis published on Tuesday.

Perkins Coie responded to the order by filing a lawsuit against the administration this week, setting up a massive legal battle over political retaliation and fundamental rights.

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"Now that he’s back in power, it’s clear the President’s definition of success includes retribution," wrote the board. "That’s the only way to read his extraordinary executive orders targeting big Washington law firms for federal punishment and investigation. Mr. Trump’s decision to use government power to punish firms for representing clients breaks a cornerstone principle of American justice going back to John Adams and the Founders."

Adams famously represented British soldiers who staged the Boston Massacre.

"Mr. Trump gives away his motive for this EO in Section I. Purpose: 'In 2016 while representing failed Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, Perkins Coie hired Fusion GPS, which then manufactured a false ‘dossier’ designed to steal an election.' That was the infamous Steele dossier that some in the press took seriously. The order adds that the firm 'has worked with activist donors including George Soros to judicially overturn popular, necessary, and democratically enacted election laws,' including voter ID," wrote the board.

In short, they continued, "Mr. Trump’s order is now targeting the law firm for representing clients Mr. Trump dislikes. He is trying to defenestrate Perkins Coie to intimidate elite law firms from representing his opponents or plaintiffs who challenge his policies. This violates a bedrock principle of American law, which is that even the worst clients deserve representation."

This state of affairs, the board concluded, marks "one more step toward making the legal system wholly political. Mr. Trump told voters he wouldn’t seek political retribution if he won. His attack on law firms violates that promise, and it won’t do him or the country any good."