President Trump signed an executive order Thursday suspending the security clearances of employees who work at Perkins Coie – the powerhouse Democratic law firm that played a key role in commissioning the so-called Steele dossier.
“The dishonest and dangerous activity of the law firm Perkins Coie LLP … has affected this country for decades,” read Trump’s latest executive order. “Notably, in 2016 while representing failed Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, Perkins Coie hired Fusion GPS, which then manufactured a false ‘dossier’ designed to steal an election.”
Perkins Coie retained the services intelligence firm Fusion GPS to conduct opposition research against Trump for the Clinton campaign in April 2016.
Former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele was subsequently hired by Fusion GPS to dig up dirt on Trump’s overseas business relationships.
The now-debunked Steele dossier – which was publicized days before Trump’s January 2017 inauguration – contained wild allegations that Russian security services possessed salacious video tapes involving Trump, and that Russia attempted to promote his presidential prospects.
“This egregious activity is part of a pattern,” Trump added. “Perkins Coie has worked with activist donors including George Soros to judicially overturn popular, necessary, and democratically enacted election laws, including those requiring voter identification.”
Trump’s order directs Attorney General Pam Bondi, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and other heads of federal agencies to “immediately take steps consistent with applicable law to suspend any active security clearances held by individuals at Perkins Coie, pending a review of whether such clearances are consistent with the national interest.”
The president also directed agencies to terminate federal contracts with Perkins Coie “to prevent the transfer of taxpayer dollars to Federal contractors whose earnings subsidize, among other things, racial discrimination, falsified documents designed to weaponize the Government against candidates for office, and anti-democratic election changes that invite fraud and distrust.”
Under the order, federal agencies must limit Perkins Coie employees from accessing government buildings “when such access would threaten the national security of or otherwise be inconsistent with the interests of the United States” and instruct government employees to not engage with law firm staffers when “acting in their official capacity.”
“Agency officials shall, to the extent permitted by law, refrain from hiring employees of Perkins Coie, absent a waiver from the head of the agency, made in consultation with the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, that such hire will not threaten the national security of the United States,” the order continues.
The Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee paid Perkins Coie nearly $10 million for its services in the run up to the 2016 presidential election.
The Federal Election Commission fined the Clinton campaign and the DNC $8,000 and $105,000, respectively, for lying about how they spent money used to fund the Steele dossier.
Perkins Coie did not respond to The Post’s request for comment.
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