The punitive campaign has attracted condemnation from opponents and legal advocates who describe the move as trying to stifle judicial independence at a time Trump’s policies are being challenged in court, as well as a threat to the entire judicial system.

The executive order states that the punitive measure is in response to Wilmerhale hiring former special counsel Robert Mueller who was tasked under the previous Biden administration with investigating allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and potential links between the Kremlin and Trump’s election campaign.

“Mueller’s investigation epitomizes the weaponization of government,” according to a fact sheet on the executive order from the White House.

The order directs that the firm’s security clearances be suspended, government contracts with the firm be terminated and for its employees be barred from federal buildings.

UPI has contacted WilmerHale for comment.

The targeting of law firms comes as the Trump administration has also been attacking judges who have ruled against him.

The attacks against the U.S. judicial system have attracted strong condemnation from American legal experts, with the American Bar Association and dozens of similar groups issuing an open letter on Wednesday rejecting the “efforts to undermine the courts and the profession.”

“We will not stay silent in the face of efforts to remake our legal profession into something that rewards those who agree with the government and punishes those who do not,” the letter states. “Words and actions matter. And the intimidating words and actions we have heard and seen must end. They are designed to cow our country’s judges, our country’s courts and our legal profession.”

Perkins Coie, one of the law firms targeted by a Trump executive order, is challenging it in court, while another, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, made a deal with the White House to be removed from the list of those attacked with the president’s executive powers.