A federal judge grew exasperated with a Justice Department lawyer who struggled to defend President Donald Trump’s revenge tour against a Big Law firm.
U.S. District Court Judge John Bates, a George W. Bush appointee, grilled government lawyer Richard Lawson in a Monday hearing. He questioned the merits of Trump’s March executive order targeting the law firm Jenner & Block.
Bates temporarily paused the implementation of that order earlier this year, and Jenner & Block sued to block it permanently.
Bates’ March 28 ruling halted the implementation of two sections of the executive order that instructed the government to terminate contracts with Jenner & Block and limited the law firm’s access to federal government buildings over national security concerns.
In a tense moment during the proceedings, Bates asked the Justice Department lawyer to defend Trump’s decision to limit Jenner & Block’s access to federal buildings, according to reports by All Rise News and Law360.
When Lawson responded that the move was necessary to prevent alleged racial discrimination by the law firm, Bates exclaimed: “Give me a break!”
Michael Attanasio, attorney for Jenner & Block, said it was “like a game of Twister, verbal gymnastics, to justify this architecture of retaliation based on speech.”
Attanasio argued that Trump’s broad latitude over security clearances does not mean that area is a “Constitution-free zone.”
Judge Bates asks the DOJ lawyer to explain a First Amendment-permissible way the government could limit Jenner & Block’s access to government buildings.After the DOJ lawyer says to address alleged discrimination, the George W. Bush-appointed judge exclaims: “Give me a break!”…
— Adam Klasfeld (@KlasfeldReports) April 28, 2025
“The security clearance provision flows from the unconstitutional attack on the law firm,” he said.
Bates reportedly raised his voice at multiple points throughout the hearing.
“Isn’t it logical that clients are going to be reluctant to engage Jenner & Block if they know there’s a real chance that Jenner and Block isn’t going to be able to go into a federal building or talk to federal agencies?” Bates asked.
Lawson said it was too early to make that call since no guidelines have been released yet on how the executive order would be enforced.
Trump’s executive order singled out the lawyer Andrew Weissmann, who was part of former special counsel Robert Mueller’s high-profile probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Bates is just one of multiple federal judges who have blocked Trump’s attacks on top law firms he views as political enemies.
Last week, major law firms Perkins Coie and WilmerHale asked judges to permanently block Trump’s executive orders against them. Federal judges earlier paused the implementation of executive orders targeting the two firms.
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