(NEW YORK)— PEN America has joined a federal court amicus brief arguing that the Trump administration’s Executive Order targeting law firm Perkins Coie is a threat to press freedom and free expression. The brief is filed in support of Perkins Coie’s motion for summary judgment in its challenge against the Trump administration. The Executive Order seeks to suspend firm attorneys’ security clearances, ban the attorneys from federal buildings, review internal Perkins Coie hiring practices, and sever the firm’s government contracts or other government ties in retaliation for its legal work representing Trump’s political opponents and enforcing the Voting Rights Act.
Led by the Intercept’s Press Freedom Defense Fund and Freedom of the Press Foundation, the amicus brief was filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The brief was joined by 61 media and press freedom organizations and advocates in total, including the Center for Investigative Reporting, Free Press, and the Institute for Nonprofit News.
The organizations argue that the Trump administration’s retaliatory threats against the firm represent a threat to press freedom, as journalists rely on the work of lawyers to protect their First Amendment interests and defend against government reprisal for unfavorable coverage. Throughout his term so far, President Trump has clearly evinced an intention to go after journalists who are critical of his actions or do not report his favored narrative, making the work of media lawyers all the more important.
In order to hold the powerful to account, journalists also require access to government information, which is frequently contested in courts. The brief argues that lawyers serve a vital role in the media ecosystem, often ensuring that “the public preserves its common law and First Amendment rights to access the facilities of the government.” Without the necessary clearance and access to government information, lawyers will not be able to preserve the press’s function as a bulwark against corruption and mendacity, casting a devastating chilling effect on journalists around the country. “Threats to the press are . . . threats to the public,” the organizations write in their brief.
Eileen Hershenov, chief legal officer at PEN America, writes, “In going after the institutions that protect press freedom and other important liberties, the Trump administration is attempting to hinder the free and truthful flow of information, and impede any efforts by the press to do their job–to hold the powerful accountable and to inform the people of what is happening in their community. The chilling effects on journalists and the lawyers who defend their First Amendment rights that this Executive Order and others like it will create are entirely intentional. We will not accept these unconstitutional attempts to impede free expression.”
PEN America has spoken out against the administration’s attempts to hinder press freedom and journalists’ access to information, as well as its attempts to avoid facing legal challenges to their unlawful actions by cowing law firms into submission.
About PEN America
PEN America stands at the intersection of literature and human rights to protect free expression in the United States and worldwide. We champion the freedom to write, recognizing the power of the word to transform the world. Our mission is to unite writers and their allies to celebrate creative expression and defend the liberties that make it possible. Learn more at pen.org.
Contact: Suzanne Trimel, STrimel@PEN.org, (201) 247-5057