• by Wendy Davis  @wendyndavis, April 10, 2025

Media organizations are urging a federal judge to permanently strike down President Donald Trump's executive order targeting the law firm Perkins Coie, which worked for Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign and also brought proceedings to enforce the Voting Rights Act.

In a friend-of-the-court brief filed Thursday with U.S. District Court Judge Beryl Howell in Washington, D.C., more than 60 media advocates and news organizations -- including The Daily Beast, The Intercept, The Center for Investigative Reporting, PEN America, Free Press and Public Knowledge -- argue that Trump's order, if allowed to take effect, could discourage lawyers from representing news outlets.

They argue that the order, if upheld, would discourage law firms from representing media outlets in conflicts with the government -- such as the famous battle between the Nixon administration and The New York Times and Washington Post over publication of the Pentagon Papers.

“To publish the Pentagon Papers, the New York Times and Washington Post employed some of the most famous First Amendment lawyers in American history,” the media groups write.

“If the Executive Order stands, many lawyers will be chilled from taking on work so directly in conflict with the President, out of fear for the harm it would cause to their clients whose relationship with the government is more transactional,” the groups add.

The argument stems from a Trump order issued in March that purports to cancel federal contracts with the firm and restrict its lawyers from entering federal buildings.

Perkins Coie sued to invalidate the order, contending that it violates the First Amendment by discriminating against the firm for its viewpoint, among other arguments

Last month, Howell issued a temporary restraining order barring enforcement.

Trump has issued similar orders against two other law firms --  Jenner & Block and WilmerHale. They also sued and have won temporary restraining orders blocking similar orders.

Perkins Coie recently asked Howell to permanently strike down the order against it.

The media groups write that news outlets and their lawyers are Trump's “logical next targets,” adding it is “all but certain” that if the order is upheld, “a similar version will be issued against law frms or legal organizations for their representation of the press.”

“The current President has long displayed his distaste for the media,” the organizations write.

“Between June 16, 2015 and January 8, 2021, President Trump insulted the media, claimed bias, or threatened to retaliate against members of the press over 2000 times,” they add, noting that the current administration has already taken steps against press outlets -- such as barring the Associated Press from events because it refused to call the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America. (The AP has sued over that restriction and won a preliminary injunction, but the ruling hasn't yet taken effect.)

News organizations aren't the only ones backing Perkins Coie. Numerous outside groups, advocates and academics have also filed friend-of-the-court papers.

One brief, brought by more than 350 law professors, argues that Trump's order not only violates the constitution, but also “threatens the rule of law.”

“If the Order stands, it will be open season on lawyers who have dared to take on clients or causes the President or other officials don’t like,” the professors argue.

“Going forward, a lawyer or law firm that is asked to represent a client on a matter that is likely to trigger the President’s ire will have to weigh whether they are willing to be placed on the President’s target list -- and lose the business such a placement entails,” the academics add.