White House suspending active security clearances of Covington & Burling lawyers who are working with Jack Smith

By Katelyn Polantz and Samantha Waldenberg, CNN

(CNN) — The White House is suspending the active security clearances of lawyers from the large legal defense firm Covington & Burling who are working with former special counsel Jack Smith, who prosecuted Donald Trump unsuccessfully on behalf of the Justice Department under the Biden administration.

According to a memo released Tuesday by the White House, all executive agencies are to suspend the clearances that may be used by Covington lawyers in private practice as the White House launches a “review and determination of their roles and responsibilities, if any, in the weaponization of the judicial process.”

The direction from Trump is clear pushback to the firm’s work now, as it represents Smith as a private citizen facing investigations from Republicans. It also marks an escalation of the White House’s retaliation against those who have supported the former special counsel’s work.

The president, targeting Smith, said ahead of signing the memo in the Oval Office on Tuesday, “We’re going to call it the deranged Jack Smith signing or bill.”

Covington lawyers are not the first attorneys to represent people perceived as political enemies of Trump who have lost their security clearances. Those clearances can allow them flexibility in practicing law when it relates to national security issues and classified aspects of cases.

The suspension of security clearances for private practice lawyers at Covington who previously held significant DOJ roles is a startling political approach that has rattled lawyers across Washington. It’s long been a protected right for defendants and others facing investigations to be able to use lawyers of their choosing.

“This is nothing less than a petty and vindictive attack on the legal profession, and particularly the ability of a select group of cleared lawyers to defend the interests of officials across the intelligence community,” said Washington national security attorney Bradley Moss in response to the White House’s move. Moss is a law partner of Mark Zaid, who also has had his security clearance revoked. “The bigger question is, how far is he going to take this war against the legal profession, and against anyone who stands for the rule of law?”

White House aide Will Scharf said ahead of the signing, “One law firm that provided pro bono legal services to the special counsel’s office under Jack Smith’s leadership was Covington & Burling. As a result of those actions, we’re now going to be suspending and putting under review the security clearances for the attorneys and employees at that firm who worked with Jack Smith’s team.”

In response to the White House’s move, a Covington spokesman said on Tuesday: “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.”

The firm declined to provide any more information about a possible investigation into Smith, though Trump, appointees in his Justice Department, and Republicans in Congress have made clear they intend to revisit Smith’s office’s work. Covington also didn’t say if or how many of its lawyers had active security clearances.

“We look forward to defending Mr. Smith’s interests and appreciate the trust he has placed in us to do so,” the statement also said.

Smith disclosed in a federal ethics form recently that Covington & Burling provided $140,000 worth of legal services to him as a gift.

The two lawyers at Covington representing Smith are Lanny Breuer, the former head of the Justice Department’s criminal division, and Peter Koski, formerly a public integrity prosecutor.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2025 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.