President Donald Trump intensified his war on adversaries Friday, issuing an executive order branding the prominent law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP a “national security threat.” Titled “Addressing Risks from Paul Weiss,” the directive marks the third time this year Trump has wielded executive power against a major U.S. law firm, following similar moves against Perkins Coie and Covington & Burling—each tied to investigations that dogged his political career.
The order zeroes in on Paul Weiss’s links to Trump’s legal nemeses. It blasts a 2021 pro bono lawsuit led by a firm partner—once a top deputy to Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who probed alleged Russian ties to Trump’s 2016 campaign—against January 6 Capitol riot participants.
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It also slams the firm for hiring Mark Pomerantz in 2022, a former Manhattan DA prosecutor who Trump claims “unethically” targeted him with a failed fraud case before pushing it via media after resigning. Mueller’s probe found no collusion, and Pomerantz’s efforts fizzled, but Trump’s order frames both as part of a pattern of “harmful activity.”
Beyond old scores, Trump accuses Paul Weiss of racial discrimination, alleging—without evidence—that it and other top firms set hiring “targets” by race and sex.
“Those who engage in blatant discrimination…should not have access to our Nation’s secrets,” the order declares, tying the attack to his administration’s anti-DEI push, spotlighted by a recent court win against federal diversity programs.
The directive pulls no punches: agency heads must suspend Paul Weiss staff’s security clearances, cut off access to federal buildings and sensitive info, and terminate government contracts linked to the firm. Contractors must disclose any Paul Weiss ties within 30 days, facing deal cancellations if they don’t comply. The Office of Management and Budget is tasked with rooting out and halting all federal support to the firm “expeditiously.”
Trump ties the crackdown to his broader agenda, citing Executive Order 14147—his January 20 pledge to end “weaponization” of government—as a guiding star. Agency leaders are urged to realign funding with “the interests of the citizens” and Trump’s priorities.
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Paul Weiss hasn’t commented, but the order echoes Trump’s earlier salvos—against Perkins Coie (Clinton’s firm) and Covington & Burling (Jack Smith’s ex-employer)—both stalled by judicial pushback.
A federal judge last week called a Perkins Coie order “unconstitutional,” hinting at legal battles ahead. For now, Trump’s latest swing keeps his vengeance train rolling, with the courts—and Paul Weiss—bracing for impact.
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