April 15 (UPI) — The Susman Godfrey law firm succeeded in temporarily stopping the Trump administration from blocking its access to federal facilities and revoking government contracts.
U.S District Court for the District of Columbia Judge Loren AliKhan during an hour-long hearing on Tuesday called President Donald Trump‘s recent executive order targeting the law firm a “personal vendetta” and accused Trump of “abusing the powers of his office,” the Washington Post reported.
She temporarily blocked most of the sanctions against the law firm pending the outcome of the federal lawsuit, including the ban on the law firm’s attorneys entering federal buildings and requiring federal agencies to cancel contracts they might have with Susman Godfrey.
“Law firms across the country are entering into agreements with the government out of fear that they will be targeted next, and that coercion is plain and simple,” AliKhan said as reported by the New York Times.
“I admire firms like Susman for standing up and challenging it when it does threaten the very existence of their business,” she added.
AliKhan also ruled the Trump administration must provide guidance for federal agencies to follow the court’s temporary injunction against many of the sanctions that Trump ordered on Wednesday.
White House spokesman Harrison Fields said the executive order targets “rogue law firms” by “holding bad actors accountable.”
“American taxpayers should not fund lucrative contracts with law firms whose actions harm national interests,” Fields told the Washington Post in a prepared statement.
Trump in the executive order accused the law firm of weaponizing the nation’s legal system and removed security clearances for its attorneys, blocked their access to federal buildings and directed federal agencies to end all contracts with Susman Godfrey.
“Susman spearheads efforts to weaponize the American legal system and degrade the quality of American elections,” Trump said in the executive order.
“Susman also funds groups that engage dangerous efforts to undermine the effectiveness of the United States military through the injection of political and radical ideology,” Trump said, “and it supports efforts to discriminate on the basis of race.”
He said his administration is committed to ending illegal discrimination done “in the name of ‘diversity, equity and inclusion’ policies.
“Those who engage in blatant discrimination and other activities inconsistent with the interests of the United States should not have access to our nation’s secrets nor be deemed responsible stewards of federal funds,” he added.
The law firm represented Dominion Voting Systems in its defamation lawsuit against Fox News and secured a nearly $778 million settlement over claims that the electronic voting systems were compromised during the 2020 election.
Susman Godfrey has law offices in Houston, New York City, Los Angeles and Seattle.
President Joe Biden appointed AliKhan to the federal court in 2022.