Overview
- Justice Department lawyers filed their opening brief Friday seeking to revive executive orders against Perkins Coie, WilmerHale, Jenner & Block, and Susman Godfrey after briefly moving to drop the appeals earlier in the week.
- The contested directives would restrict the firms’ access to federal buildings, suspend employees’ security clearances, and require government contractors to disclose if they hire the firms.
- Four federal district judges permanently blocked the orders on First Amendment and due process grounds, issuing sharply critical opinions.
- In its 97-page filing, the DOJ argued the courts overreached into presidential powers over security clearances and agency directives, saying judges "bent over backwards" to invalidate the measures.
- The injunctions remain in place as the consolidated appeals proceed in the D.C. Circuit with briefing schedules set and no argument date, and the targeted firms publicly oppose the government’s reversal.