President Trump signed an executive order Tuesday stripping the security clearances for attorneys at a high-powered Washington law firm that assisted special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into the president.
The order targets international law firm Covington & Burling, which employs highly connected Democratic lawyers who worked in both the Obama and Biden administrations. Mr. Smith said he received $140,000 worth of free legal advice from the firm to help him with his probes into Mr. Trump and his allies, according to disclosures filed with the Justice Department.
Removing their security clearances makes it nearly impossible for attorneys with the firm to do federal government work. It’s unclear how much, if any, work the law firm does for the U.S. government.
“We’re going to call it the ’deranged Jack Smith’ signing or bill,” Mr. Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. He also offered to send the pen he used to sign the directive to Mr. Smith.
In 2022, Attorney General Merrick Garland tapped Mr. Smith to probe efforts by Mr. Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 election and the president’s handling of classified materials. He brought charges in both cases, but the charges were dropped after Mr. Trump’s election in November. Under a longstanding Justice Department policy, criminal charges cannot be brought against a sitting president.
The order was one of three signed by Mr. Trump on Tuesday.
SEE ALSO: Trump signs executive order paving way for copper tariffs
He also signed an executive order opening an investigation into whether foreign production and imports of copper threaten America’s economic and national security.
The directive orders Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to lead the probe and determine whether new tariffs on foreign copper would be warranted.
Copper is a critical material that is used in manufacturing and construction but also has applications in the U.S. military because it is used to build ships, tanks and aircraft. It is also used in electric vehicles and artificial intelligence.
Roughly 38% of the copper used in the United States is imported from foreign countries, according to data from BNP Paribas, a financial services company. The U.S. consumed about $17 billion of copper last year, according to data from Citi.
Mr. Trump signed a third order that reinstates and strengthens price transparency in the health care industry.
“You’re not allowed to even talk about it when you go into a hospital or see a doctor and this allows you to talk about it,” Mr. Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.