Trump Appeals Ruling Blocking Executive Order Against Perkins Coie
The Trump administration filed an appeal on Monday challenging its loss in federal court to Perkins Coie, in a signal that it intends to prolong its fight in trying to force some of the nation's top law firms to capitulate.
Earlier this year, fearing President Trump, a number of prominent firms shocked some of their peers and clients by agreeing to take on hundreds of millions of dollars of free legal work on causes of shared concern with the White House in exchange for the right to continue operating as usual.
But a handful of firms declined to strike a deal and were singled out by Mr. Trump for punishment through executive orders that exiled them from work with the federal government. Those firms, including Perkins Coie, sued in March. The courts have found Mr. Trump's actions unambiguously illegal, and have blocked the government from following the orders.
The filing on Monday was the first indication so far that Mr. Trump has not been deterred.
The appeal follows the fourth straight ruling against the Trump administration on Friday, when a judge struck down an order targeting the firm Susman Godfrey.
The decision in that case struck many of the same notes that Judge Beryl Howell of the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia did when she declared the order targeting Perkins Coie illegal on May 2.
'The courts have permanently blocked all four unlawful executive orders targeting law firms because those orders violate core constitutional freedoms,' a spokesman for Perkins Coie said in a statement about the Trump administration's appeal. 'We look forward to presenting our case to the D.C. Circuit and remain committed to ensuring that the unconstitutional executive order targeting our firm is never enforced.'
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