Left: Donald Trump speaks during a commit to caucus rally in Iowa back in December 2023 (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall). Right: Special counsel Jack Smith speaks to the media about the indictment of former President Donald Trump in August 2023 (AP Photo: J. Scott Applewhite).
President Donald Trump was called out for taking a “vindictive and petty” shot at former special counsel Jack Smith on Tuesday night when he signed an executive order that suspended security clearances held by a law firm that his administration says helped Smith investigate Trump, which he labeled the “deranged Jack Smith” bill.
“This is a good one,” Trump said before explaining what the order was and how it targets lawyers and staff at the Washington law firm Covington & Burling. “We’re going to call it the deranged Jack Smith signing or bill,” he told reporters.
Trump, who was investigated by Smith over his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election and alleged misuse of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, even went so far as to suggest that the pen he used to sign the order be sent to Smith as a souvenir.
“I just want to savor this one,” Trump said. “Who would like this pen? Why don’t you send it to Jack Smith.”
In an interview with The New York Times, Washington, D.C., lawyer Mark Zaid, who had his security clearance stripped earlier this month, ripped the president’s Tuesday order as “vindictive and petty,” while also calling it a “disgraceful affront to the entire legal and national security system.” Zaid said he and his colleagues also had their security clearances revoked “without any due process, simply because they represented someone the president doesn’t like.”
Trump signaled Tuesday that he wanted to continue doing this with others.
“You’ll be doing this with other firms as time goes by, right?” Trump asked White House staff secretary Will Scharf, who helped announce the terms of the “deranged Jack Smith” order from the Oval Office.
“(Trump) committed to ending the weaponization of government, to holding those accountable who participated in the weaponization of government,” Scharf said. “One law firm that provided pro bono legal services to the special counsel’s office under Jack Smith’s leadership was Covington and Burling. As a result of those actions, we’re now going to be suspending and putting under review the security clearances for the attorneys and employees at that firm who worked with Jack Smith’s team and we’re going to continue holding the people who were responsible for the weaponization of government and who supported it accountable for what they did.”
Trump added, “The weaponization of our system by law firms — even pro bono work they’re doing — just in order to clog up government, stop government. And nobody knows about it more than me.”
Trump’s order comes as he continues to go after officials and government employees who worked on federal probes involving him and people who have supported him, including the pardoned Jan. 6 rioters.
Covington & Burling describes itself as an international law firm that combines “tremendous strength in our litigation, investigations, and corporate practices with deep knowledge of policy and policymakers,” according to its website. Attorneys who are part of the firm include former Attorney General Eric Holder and ex-DOJ official Lanny Breuer. Smith reportedly hired them to represent him and aid with legal services before he stepped down as special counsel in January.
According to a report from Politico earlier this month, Smith received approximately $140,000 in pro bono legal services from Covington & Burling before his departure.
Asked Tuesday by a reporter if he wanted to target the law firm out of spite, Trump said: “I’ve been targeted for four years, longer than that. So don’t you tell me about targeting. I was the target of corrupt politicians for four years and then four years after that, so don’t talk to me about targeting.”
