Trump moves to suspension of lawyers' security authorizations at law firm DC helping Jack Smith

Washington (AP) – President Donald Trump ordered on Tuesday the suspension of any security authorizations held by lawyers at a Law firm in Washington, who provided legal services Special Jack Smith CounselorThe most recent movement in the Republican Rrabutation campaign on criminal investigations that endangered it before returning.

Trump’s memory signed at the White House is trying to punish Covington & Burling law firm after it was revealed that the company provided pro -bono legal services to Smith, who accused Trump in two criminal cases that were later rejected after Trump won the presidency in November.

Covington & Burling is an international law firm whose current lawyers include former prosecutor Eric Holder and Lanny Breuer, a former official of the Department of Justice, who in 2010 employee on Smith to run the Agency’s public integrity section. The company had no role in investigating Smith about Trump, according to a person familiar with the problem that spoke to the anonymity, because they were not authorized to discuss the situation.

The company recently agreed to represent Smith “when it became obvious that it will become a subject of a government investigation,” said in a statement on Tuesday.

“Covington serves as a lawyer of Jack Smith’s defense in his personal, individual capacity,” said a company spokesman. “We look forward to defending the interests of Mr. Smith and appreciating the confidence he placed in us to do so.”

The movement is part of Trump’s effort to take revenge on his perceived political enemies and especially Smith. After signing the Directive, Trump suggested that the pen he used to be sent to Smith, causing laughter in the Oval Office.

This is not the first time that Trump as president sought to suspend the authorizations of Washington figures who caused him.

Last month, for example, he moved to revoke the authorizations of over four dozen former information officials who signed on a letter who said that the Hunter Biden laptop wore the landmarks of a Russian misinformation campaign.

The memory guides Prosecutor General Pam Bondi to suspend any active security authorizations held by Peter Koski, a lawyer representing Smith, and “all members, partners and employees” in Covington, who assisted Smith during his time as a special lawyer. He says that they will be suspended “waiting for the revision and determining their roles and responsibilities, if applicable, in the armament of the judicial process”.

Asked by a reporter on Tuesday about the law firm, Trump replied: “I have been targeted for four years, more than that, so you don’t tell me about the target. I was the target of corrupt politicians for four years and then four years later, so you don’t talk about the target. “

A financial disclosure company submitted by Smith and reported by Politico earlier this month revealed that Smith revealed that he received $ 140,000 in pro bono legal services in Covington and Burling before leaving his job in January, after more than two years at work.

Following is the dismissal of the members of Smith’s team and seems to be designed to discourage lawyers and big law companies to provide legal services to investigators who have investigated Trump, many of them – such as Smith – have searched their own lawyer.

Bondi and other Republicans claimed that the Department of Justice under President Joe Biden became “armed” against Conservatives and especially Trump. In one of his first actions, Bondi announced the creation of a “reinforcement working group” that will examine Smith’s activity and prosecutors and law enforcement that participated in what Bondi’s memory described as “the unprecedented attack on President Trump.”

Smith was appointed in November 2022 by the general attack, Merrick Garland, to take over the ongoing investigations on Trump’s seizure of classified documents at his Mar-A-Lago estate and his efforts to overthrow the 2020 presidential elections.

Both investigations led to the indictments, although the case of classified documents was rejected by a judge who concluded that the appointment of Smith was illegal and that the criminal prosecution of the electoral interference was significantly reduced by an opinion of the Supreme Court last summer.

Smith rejected both shortly after Trump’s electoral victory in November, citing the policy of the long -term justice department against the criminal prosecution of a sitting president.

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