(The Center Square) – The Washington State Attorney General’s Office has filed an amicus brief in defense of Seattle-based law firm Perkins Coie, which had its security clearance revoked by President Donald Trump and was hired several years ago by Washington State University to negotiate a subcontract for a police use of force database.
In his executive order, Trump accused the law firm of “undermining democratic elections, the integrity of our courts, and honest law enforcement,” citing their representation of Hillary Clinton and its role in creating a dossier containing unsubstantiated claims related to ties between Trump and Russia.
However, Washington Attorney General Nick Brown wrote in a statement that “the American legal system depends on lawyers taking difficult cases and defending unpopular clients. The President’s illegal order is clearly meant to bully Perkins Coie and punish them for taking cases and clients that he disagrees with.”
The amicus brief argued that Trump was punishing Perkins Coie “for representing clients that he personally does not like. This order runs roughshod over the First Amendment and the basic principles underlying our adversarial justice system.”
Yet, Bob Scales, a former King County deputy prosecutor who has filed a tort claim against the Washington AGO, told The Center Square that “all Trump did was tell the federal government ‘Don’t hire this law firm.’ The federal government can hire any law firm they want to hire. He doesn’t have to give a reason. You’re hiring attorneys that you want to represent you. They have no legal basis to bring this.”
“It’s state taxpayers suing federal taxpayers,” he added. “They’re using state taxpayer dollars to do this to literally help their friends in a law firm try to get a job with the federal government they’re not entitled to.”
A former Special Assistant United States Attorney for the Western District of Washington, Scales has been involved in an ongoing dispute with not just the Washington AGO, but WSU as well regarding a police use of force database project. Scales’ company Police Strategies has intended to bid on the project as a subcontractor with Seattle University, but ultimately did not in part due to the requirement that they turn over all their intellectual property.
After WSU, the only bidder for the contract, was awarded the project by the Washington AGO it proceeded to hire Perkins Coie to negotiate its subcontract with IBM; months into negotiations, IBM withdrew from the project. The Washington AGO represents all public agencies in the state and has a division branch located at WSU to exclusively represent the institution.
