WASHINGTON — President Trump on Tuesday revoked any security clearances that may be held by Covington & Burling law firm employees who provided pro bono services to former special counsel Jack Smith, who prosecuted Trump in a pair of since-ended criminal cases.
“This is a good one. Is everybody listening? Deranged Jack Smith — we’re going to call it the deranged Jack Smith signing or bill,” Trump said in the Oval Office.
“The weaponization of our system by law firms, even pro bono work they’re doing just in order to clog up government, stop government, and nobody knows about it more than me, and hopefully that’ll never happen again.”
The president cut off a journalist who attempted to ask an unrelated question about US troop deployments in Europe.
“Wait, I just want to savor this one, please,” Trump said before brandishing the pen he used to sign his name to the order.
“Who would like this pen? Why don’t you send it to Jack Smith? A deranged person.”
Covington & Burling spokespeople did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Smith received $140,000 in free legal services from the firm, according to a Jan. 10 disclosure by his office.
Politico reported that at least two attorneys at the firm, Peter Koski and Lanny Breuer, have represented Smith.
Smith won a pair of federal criminal indictments against Trump in 2023 as he sought a second term in the White House.
A case accusing Trump of mishandling national security records carried up to 400 years in prison. The second set of charges, related to Trump challenging the 2020 election results could have sent the president to prison for 55 years.
Trump argued that the cases amounted to political targeting and his Justice Department appointees last month fired more than a dozen attorneys who participated in the investigations.
