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Proclamation restricts WilmerHale's government access,

contracts

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Trump has issued orders against four other major firms

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Critics warn Trump's moves chill lawyers' work for clients

(Recasts headline)

By David Thomas and Mike Scarcella

WASHINGTON, March 27 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald

Trump issued a proclamation on Thursday targeting law firm

WilmerHale, the fifth time the president has taken aim at a

major firm with connections to his legal or political

adversaries.

The proclamation cited WilmerHale's ties to Robert Mueller,

the former U.S. special counsel who investigated Russian

contacts with Trump's 2016 presidential campaign.

It also accused the firm of donating free legal work to

support "destructive" causes related to immigration and voting,

and said it discriminated based on race.

Like three earlier executive orders issued by Trump against

other firms, the proclamation suspended security clearances held

by lawyers at WilmerHale, restricted their access to government

officials and ordered a review meant to terminate federal

contracts held by the firm's clients.

A WilmerHale spokesperson said Trump's proclamation

resembled an earlier executive order that was suspended by a

judge.

"We look forward to pursuing all appropriate remedies to

this unlawful order," the firm said.

Mueller retired from the firm in 2021 after a "long,

distinguished career in public service," the spokesperson said.

Mueller could not immediately be reached for comment.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for

comment. Trump, a Republican, has vowed to target more law

firms, accusing them of "weaponizing" the legal system against

him and his allies.

A federal judge on March 12 temporarily blocked most of a

similar executive order Trump issued against Perkins Coie,

finding it likely violated the U.S. Constitution.

The president agreed to drop his executive order against

Wall Street law firm Paul Weiss after it agreed last week to

donate the equivalent of $40 million in free legal work to

administration causes, and to commit to nonpartisanship and

merit-based hiring.

An earlier, narrower order by Trump suspended security

clearances for some lawyers at law firm Covington & Burling.

Trump last week directed the Justice Department to recommend

similar moves against lawyers and law firms that handle

immigration cases or that sued the government over the past

eight years - a group that includes many of the largest U.S.

firms.

WilmerHale, Covington, Perkins Coie and Jenner & Block,

another firm named in an executive order earlier this week, are

each representing clients in lawsuits against the Trump

administration over issues such as immigration, transgender

rights and firings of government workers.

In WilmerHale's case, the firm represents a group of

inspectors general who allege the administration illegally

ousted them. The firm also played a key role in lawsuits against

the prior Trump administration.

Trump's moves against law firms have drawn growing

condemnation from lawyers and legal experts. A group of 20

Democratic state attorneys general and the American Bar

Association each warned on Wednesday that Trump's efforts posed

dangers to the U.S. legal system by chilling lawyers' freedom to

choose their clients.

WilmerHale, which has a large D.C. office just blocks from

the White House, employs more than 1,100 lawyers and has a

leading U.S. Supreme Court practice. Some of its major clients

include Apple ( AAPL ), Harvard University, Meta, and

Tesla.

The Justice Department appointed Mueller early in Trump's

first term to probe Russia's alleged interference in the 2016

U.S. presidential election and possible collusion between

Trump's campaign and Moscow.

In 2019, Mueller published a report that identified links

between the Russian government and Trump's campaign. But

Mueller, a former Republican-appointed FBI director, found there

was not enough evidence to establish that Trump's campaign

engaged in a criminal conspiracy with Moscow.

Other prominent former government officials at WilmerHale

include former Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, an

appointee of Democratic President Barack Obama, and Seth Waxman,

who served as U.S. solicitor general during the Democratic Bill

Clinton administration.