A federal judge appointed by President Barack Obama may permanently block President Donald Trump from taking action against law firms like Perkins Coie.
Judge Beryl Howell indicated Wednesday that Trump’s executive action and the administration’s efforts against law firms that had represented or hired his political opponents were akin to the “Red Scare” and McCarthyism.
“Howell and three other federal judges overseeing legal challenges brought by law firms targeted by the White House have voiced concerns about the constitutionality of the White House’s actions, and have granted requests from the firms to temporarily bar the administration from enforcing them as litigation plays out,” ABC News reported.
Employees at the DNC law firm Perkins Coie were stripped of their security clearances last month, but Howell blocked part of the president’s executive order.
LAWFARE: Judge Beryl Howell, Obama-appointed, Trump-hating, has ‘blocked’ the Trump administration from enforcing Trump’s executive order revoking Perkins Coie security clearance. pic.twitter.com/9AGhNP8muP
— @amuse (@amuse) March 12, 2025
“At Wednesday’s hearing, Deputy Associate Attorney General Richard Lawson repeatedly sought to defend the executive order as lawful, arguing that Trump’s views about the firm reflected his right to free speech and that the administration has broad discretion to raise national security concerns about a law firm’s work,” the outlet reported. “But Howell was highly skeptical of those defenses and only grew more frustrated as Lawson refused to answer direct questions about the purpose of the executive order.”
“The purpose was not to force Perkins to its knees?” Howell asked in the hearing.
“I don’t view it that way,” Lawson replied.
Howell accused DOJ lawyers of throwing temper tantrums over her “erroneous” temporary restraining order.
“I’ll be honest — it struck me as sort of a temper tantrum by the Department of Justice and OMB,” Howell said, referencing the Office of Management and Budget. “Worthy of a three-year-old — not the Department of Justice and OMB.”
Video posted on social media last month showed the judge going on a “tirade” against Trump.
The federal Judge who blocked President Trump from firing bureaucrats and stripping Perkins Coie’s security clearances is on tape going on a crazy tirade against Trump.
She melts down about the rise of “authoritarianism” and the “big lie.” pic.twitter.com/VPMgDQa71D
— Natalie Winters (@nataliegwinters) March 14, 2025
Trump has called out Howell as a “highly biased and unfair disaster” in a Truth Social post announcing he is suing Perkins Coie.
“I’m suing the law firm of Perkins Coie for their egregious and unlawful acts, in particular the conduct of a specific member of this firm, only to find out that the Judge assigned to this case is Beryl Howell, an Obama appointment, and a highly biased and unfair disaster,” the president wrote.
“She ruled against me in the past, in a shocking display of sick judicial temperament, on a case that ended up working out very well for me, on appeal. Her ruling was so pathologically bad that it became the ‘talk of the town.’ I could have a 100% perfect case and she would angrily rule against me,” he continued.
“It’s called Trump Derangement Syndrome, and she’s got a bad case of it,” Trump concluded. “To put it nicely, Beryl Howell is an unmitigated train wreck. NO JUSTICE!!!”
JUST IN: President Trump is absolutely right to call this out…
He’s suing Perkins Coie — and exposing Judge Beryl Howell, an Obama appointee, for her outrageous bias and history of ruling against him no matter the facts.
This isn’t justice. It’s Trump Derangement Syndrome on… pic.twitter.com/nC3a9Pzizl
— Tony Lane (@TonyLaneNV) April 23, 2025
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Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida. Powers also contributes to BizPac Review.
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