Trump suspends security clearances for Jack Smith’s outside lawyers

President Trump on Tuesday signed a memo suspending security clearances for a number of outside lawyers who are defending former special counsel Jack Smith in his personal capacity.

White House staff secretary Will Scharf said in the Oval Office that the memo targeted Washington, D.C.-based law firm Covington & Burling, which provided pro bono legal services to Smith, who led probes of Trump that resulted in two criminal indictments.

“As a result of those actions, we’re now going to be suspending and putting under review security clearances for employees at that firm and holding people responsible,” Scharf said.

Trump quipped that they would call the memo the “deranged Jack Smith signing,” invoking a pejorative he has frequently used to attack the former special counsel.

The memo states that the government would suspend “any active security clearances held by Peter Koski and all members, partners, and employees of Covington & Burling LLP who assisted former Special Counsel Jack Smith during his time as Special Counsel.”

A Covington spokesperson said in a statement that the firm defends Smith in his personal, individual capacity.

“For more than 100 years, Covington has represented clients facing government investigations, consistent with the best traditions of the legal profession,” the spokesperson said. “We recently agreed to represent Jack Smith when it became apparent that he would become a subject of a government investigation.  Covington serves as defense counsel to Jack Smith in his personal, individual capacity. We look forward to defending  Mr. Smith’s interests and appreciate the trust he has placed in us to do so.”

Since taking office, Trump has targeted Smith and those associated with him, decrying the investigations into his conduct as “weaponization” of government. The Justice Department in January fired several prosecutors who worked on Trump’s criminal cases, saying they could not “trust” them.

The move impacted at least a dozen prosecutors who worked both on Trump’s election interference case as well as another for improperly retaining records at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. Both were brought by Smith. Neither went to trial before Trump won a second term last November.

Updated at 8:08 p.m.