Two federal judges on Wednesday appeared sympathetic to arguments from elite law firms asking for definitive relief from President Trump’s executive orders targeting them.
Lawyers for two firms, Perkins Coie and WilmerHale, have asked the courts to permanently block the Trump administration from carrying out the orders, arguing that the measures are so blatantly unconstitutional that no trial is necessary.
The orders, they stressed, pose a critical threat to their businesses and the legal profession writ large. The firms have clients and have employed lawyers Mr. Trump opposes politically.
The judges presiding over their cases, Beryl A. Howell and Richard J. Leon of the Federal District Court in Washington, said they would take some time to reach a final decision. But both appeared receptive to the firms’ position that Mr. Trump was retaliating against them for speech he does not like.
Mr. Trump singled out Perkins Coie and WilmerHale for punishment in March with individualized executive orders, owing largely to past legal work on behalf of clients opposing Mr. Trump and policies he had championed. Among other measures, the orders directed federal agencies not to contract with the firms or permit their staff into federal buildings, and to suspend security clearances held by their lawyers.
Both firms had been involved in investigations concerning Russian disinformation during the 2016 election, and the question of whether Russian influence had been designed to benefit Mr. Trump’s campaign. And both noted in court filings that the president himself had said repeatedly that he had singled them out specifically because of their previous clients.