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President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday targeting the law firm connected to former special counsel Robert Mueller, who investigated the president during his first term.
Trump’s order included an end to security clearances and federal contracts with the WilmerHale firm.
“WilmerHale is…bent on employing lawyers who weaponize the prosecutorial power to upend the democratic process and distort justice,” the proclamation reads. “WilmerHale rewarded Robert Mueller and his colleagues — Aaron Zebley, Mueller’s “top aide” and “closest associate,” and James Quarles — by welcoming them to the firm after they wielded the power of the Federal Government to lead one of the most partisan investigations in American history.”
Trump’s order stated that, “WilmerHale is also bent on employing lawyers who weaponize the prosecutorial power to upend the democratic process and distort justice.”
It also argued, “Mueller’s ‘investigation’ upended the lives of public servants in my Administration who were summoned before ‘prosecutors’ with the effect of interfering in their ability to fulfill the mandates of my first term agenda. This weaponization of the justice system must not be rewarded, let alone condoned.”
A spokesperson for WilmerHale told The Hill that Mueller retired from the firm in 2021.
“Our firm has a longstanding tradition of representing a wide range of clients, including in matters against administrations of both parties,” the spokesperson said. “The Executive Order references Robert Mueller, who retired from our firm in 2021, and had a long, distinguished career in public service, from his time as a Marine Corps officer in Vietnam to his leadership of the FBI in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. “
The Mueller Report, released in 2019, details Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and claims of obstruction of justice by Trump. The report argued that Russia engaged in a systematic effort to influence the election in Trump’s favor but did not establish that Trump or his campaign conspired with Russian officials.
On obstruction, Mueller claimed multiple instances where Trump may have attempted to interfere with the investigation but did not reach a conclusion on whether he committed a crime. The report left the decision on obstruction to Congress for potential action.
