{"id":2411848,"date":"2025-03-10T07:16:02","date_gmt":"2025-03-10T11:16:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/why-trump-really-went-after-perkins-coie\/"},"modified":"2025-03-10T07:17:01","modified_gmt":"2025-03-10T11:17:01","slug":"why-trump-really-went-after-perkins-coie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/why-trump-really-went-after-perkins-coie\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Trump really went after Perkins Coie"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">14<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwhy-trump-really-went-after-perkins-coie%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2411848&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article discusses \u200dPresident Donald Trump&#8217;s recent actions against the Democratic law firm Perkins Coie, which he claims \u200bcontributed to unethical practices during his governance. Trump&#8217;s executive\u200c order revoked the security \u200cclearances of\u2064 Perkins Coie staff and terminated\u200d its federal contracts due to allegations regarding \u200cits role in a\u200d supposed conspiracy to \u2063use the Justice Department against him.<\/p>\n<p>The piece highlights Perkins Coie&#8217;s involvement with the Democratic National Committee (DNC) \u2063and Hillary Clinton during the 2016\u2062 election, specifically the firm&#8217;s connection to the \u200dcontroversial Steele dossier which was used to investigate alleged Russian collusion with\u200c Trump&#8217;s campaign. Critics of Trump argue that his actions against the\u200c law firm are politically motivated revenge; however, the history of allegations connected to Perkins Coie&#8217;s\u200c dealings complicates that narrative.<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">article mentions\u2062 ongoing investigations<\/a> and controversies \u200csurrounding the Russia examination, including indictments of former Perkins \u200bCoie lawyers for \u200cmisrepresenting\u2063 information to the FBI. The piece presents Trump&#8217;s campaign\u2062 against perceived corruption within the justice Department and FBI as a focal \u200cpoint of his current presidential agenda, amid scrutiny over \u200cthe law firm&#8217;s relationship with the FBI and various legal transgressions tied to the DNC.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Why Trump really went after top Democratic law firm Perkins Coie<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2031202\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Donald Trump\">Donald Trump<\/a>&rsquo;s strike this week against a Democratic-linked law firm came years after it faced allegations of aiding unethical and, in some cases, illegal efforts to weaponize the Justice Department against Trump.<\/p>\n<p>Trump&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/presidential-actions\/2025\/03\/addressing-risks-from-perkins-coie-llp\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">order<\/a>, which stripped Perkins Coie of its staff&rsquo;s security clearances and demanded an end to any federal contracts it has with the government, quickly drew claims from critics that the president was exacting political <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/national-security\/2025\/03\/06\/trump-perkins-coie-hillary-clinton-steele-dossier\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">retribution<\/a> against an opponent.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3325781\/trump-pause-executive-order-washington-dc-takeover\/\">Trump puts pin in plan to sign DC takeover executive order &mdash; for now<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3333452\/trump-transportation-department-to-prioritize-birth-rates-in-doling-out-projects-amid-declining-fertility\/\">Trump Transportation Department to prioritize birth rates in doling out projects amid declining fertility<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3341986\/air-force-intercepts-aircraft-flying-restricted-zone-mar-a-lago\/\">Air Force intercepts aircraft flying in a restricted zone near Mar-a-Lago<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>But Perkins Coie&rsquo;s role in allegedly unlawful activity during Trump&rsquo;s first term complicates the characterization of Trump&rsquo;s move as an act of simple partisan revenge.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Russian collusion connection<\/h2>\n<p>Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the Democratic National Committee retained Perkins Coie and Marc Elias, then one of the firm&rsquo;s top lawyers, in the spring of 2016. Shortly afterward, in April 2016, Elias hired an opposition research firm named Fusion GPS to dig into whether Trump, Clinton&rsquo;s opponent in the presidential race, had ties to Russia.<\/p>\n<p>Fusion GPS, in turn, hired Christopher Steele, a former British intelligence officer who went on to compile the now-discredited set of allegations known as the Steele dossier.<\/p>\n<p>The work facilitated by Perkins Coie led to a sprawling criminal investigation that paralyzed the first Trump administration without ever uncovering the Russian collusion plot alleged by Perkins Coie&rsquo;s clients.<\/p>\n<p>The arrangement between Perkins Coie and the Democrats initially obscured Clinton&rsquo;s role in pushing unverified claims about Trump to the FBI and intelligence community. Media outlets reported on the collusion allegations without noting their partisan origins, giving the claims more weight.<\/p>\n<p>A subsequent special counsel investigation of how the Russia investigation unfolded found evidence that, in July 2016, &ldquo;Clinton allegedly approved a proposal from one of her foreign policy advisors to tie Trump to Russia as a means of distracting the public from her use of a private email server,&rdquo; which, at the time, was a scandal dogging her campaign.<\/p>\n<p>John Durham, the special counsel tasked with investigating the Russia saga, alleged wrongdoing by Perkins Coie when it presented the Steele dossier claims against Trump to the FBI while concealing the fact that Trump&rsquo;s political opponent had purchased the dossier as a way to get ahead in the presidential race.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">President Donald Trump speaks after signing executive orders on Thursday, March 6, 2025, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. Trump signed a series of executive orders, including lifting 25% tariffs for all goods compliant under the USMCA trade agreement, terminating the security clearances of those who work at the law firm Perkins Coie, combating drug trafficking at the northern border, and announcing a $20 billion investment by shipping giant CMA CGM for U.S. infrastructure and jobs. (Photo by Alex Wong\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Russiagate&rsquo;s wide-ranging fallout<\/h2>\n<p>A top lawyer for Perkins Coie at the time faced a criminal indictment over his role in funneling the Russia allegations to the FBI in 2016.<\/p>\n<p>Michael Sussmann was ultimately acquitted after a 2022 trial in Washington of one charge of lying to the FBI.<\/p>\n<p>But Durham had accused Sussmann of peddling false information to the FBI and media, leading to damaging headlines about Trump in the final stretch of the 2016 race.<\/p>\n<p>Sussmann was accused of telling then-FBI General Counsel James Baker &ldquo;by text message and in person that he was acting on his own and was not representing any client or company in providing the information to the FBI&rdquo; in September 2016.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Our investigation showed that, in point of fact, these representations to Baker were false in that Sussmann was representing the Clinton campaign (as evidenced by, among other things, his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wis-voter-id-loophole-raises-renewed-concerns\/\" title=\"WI&#039;s Voter ID &#039;Loophole&#039; Raises Renewed Concerns\">law firm&#038;rsquo<\/a>;s billing records and internal communications),&rdquo; Durham concluded in his 2023 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/archives\/media\/1381211\/dl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">report<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>At the time, Sussmann was allegedly working to push false claims of a secret communications channel between Trump&rsquo;s business empire and a Russian bank. Durham found that Sussmann, Elias, and Fusion GPS met in Perkins Coie&rsquo;s offices to work on the plan to create the secret Russian server claims and encourage the FBI to investigate them. Then, the Perkins Coie attorney succeeded in planting news stories about the FBI investigation he intentionally triggered.<\/p>\n<p>Sussmann was not the only person involved in starting the Trump-Russia investigation who faced a criminal indictment. Kevin Clinesmith, a lawyer at the time for the FBI, pleaded guilty in 2020 to doctoring an email in an effort to renew a surveillance warrant on former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3320660\/republicans-shun-revelations-kash-patel\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"REPUBLICANS SHUN LAST-MINUTE ALLEGATIONS ABOUT KASH PATEL\">REPUBLICANS SHUN LAST-MINUTE ALLEGATIONS ABOUT KASH PATEL<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Clinesmith deleted language from the email that confirmed Page previously worked with the CIA, instead inserting an assertion that Page had never done so. If the FBI had disclosed Page&rsquo;s relationship with the CIA, the Justice Department would have discovered that Page had already shared with intelligence agents the details of the Russian connections that the FBI was criminally investigating.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to Durham, the Justice Department inspector general found in a 2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/storage\/120919-examination.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">report<\/a> problems with the way agents conducted the Russia investigation that Perkins Coie helped start.<\/p>\n<p>The law firm&rsquo;s arrangement with the Clinton campaign caught the attention of election officials as well.<\/p>\n<p>The Federal Election Commission fined Clinton&rsquo;s campaign and the DNC in 2022 after a yearslong investigation led the FEC to conclude both had <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/clinton-criticizes-people-who-dont-believe-in-our-democracy-then-claims-putin-helped-elect-trump\/\" title=\"Clinton Criticizes People Who Don\u2019t \u2018Believe In Our Democracy,\u2019 Then ... Putin Helped Elect Trump\">violated campaign finance laws<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>FEC officials <a href=\"https:\/\/static1.squarespace.com\/static\/6243b3f8b001843f2379a673\/t\/624486ac6da88f37bd43e98d\/1648658094980\/MUR+7449+closing+letter+to+Coolidge+Reagan+Foundation.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">said<\/a> the campaign and the DNC unlawfully listed the purpose of payments to Perkins Coie as &ldquo;legal services&rdquo; when, in fact, the money went to anti-Trump opposition research.<\/p>\n<p>Trump has made addressing what he has described as corruption within the FBI and Justice Department a top priority of his second presidency. Ending the federal government&rsquo;s contracting relationship with a law firm accused by prosecutors of contributing to that corruption could be viewed as part of the effort.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Close FBI ties<\/h2>\n<p>Perkins Coie&rsquo;s relationship with the FBI has come under scrutiny from congressional Republicans previously.<\/p>\n<p>In 2022, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) and then-Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) sent a letter to the FBI <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/2877764\/sussmanns-cozy-relationship-with-the-fbi-revealed\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"demanding more information\">demanding more information<\/a> about a &ldquo;Secure Work Environment&rdquo; that the FBI was operating out of the Washington offices of Perkins Coie.<\/p>\n<p>The FBI had set up the office space nine years prior, and the lawmakers <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/gaetz-jordan-fbi-workspace-democratic-law-firm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"said\">said<\/a> they learned that Perkins Coie was given the authority to maintain the workspace.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3312070\/lawsuits-targeting-trump-executive-orders\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"HERE ARE THE LAWSUITS TARGETING TRUMP'S EXECUTIVE ORDERS\">HERE ARE THE LAWSUITS TARGETING TRUMP&rsquo;S EXECUTIVE ORDERS<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Sussmann, the Perkins Coie lawyer who fed Clinton-backed Russia allegations to the FBI, had badge access to both the workspace and FBI headquarters, the lawmakers said.<\/p>\n<p>Before Trump&rsquo;s 2024 election victory and Kash Patel&rsquo;s nomination to lead the FBI, the bureau director wrote in his book, <em>Government Gangsters<\/em>, that he views Perkins Coie as a member of the &ldquo;Executive Branch Deep State.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_2031202\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"2031202\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Trump targets Democratic law firm Perkins Coie over past allegations<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2775,"featured_media":2411849,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/perkins-coie.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[34319,51846,3634],"class_list":["post-2411848","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-legal-battles","tag-perkins-coie","tag-trump"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/perkins-coie.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2411848","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2775"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2411848"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2411848\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2411852,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2411848\/revisions\/2411852"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2411849"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2411848"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2411848"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2411848"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}