Covington

Recently, for instance, security clearances were removed for lawyers at the law firms of Perkins Coie, which represented Hillary Clinton’s campaign in the 2016 election, and Covington Burleigh, which represented Jack Smith, who investigated Trump in the Biden years.

Trump has issued similar executive orders against the law firms Perkins Coie and Covington & Burling.

Simultaneously, he is trying to intimidate lawyers in private practice—beginning with prominent firms like Perkins Coie, Covington & Burling, and Paul Weiss—who have opposed him before or might now take cases against him.

Hannah Covington, of the News Literacy Project, told Slate that it’s crucial “to be able to understand what credibility looks like” and “recognize it in action.”

Trump has also ordered that every attorney at Covington & Burling, a major law firm representing Jack Smith, the special counsel who led the investigations against Trump, have their security clearances revoked, an act that the law firm has called retaliatory.