President Trump Revokes Security Clearances for Lawyers Who Worked with Jack Smith

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump suspended the security clearances for lawyers at the law firm that aided Special Counsel Jack Smith during his failed investigations of the president.

According to the Washington Examiner, the order was given in a memo by the president ordering all of the appropriate agencies to revoke security clearances for lawyers at Covington & Burling, who provided pro bono services to Smith over the course of his two separate investigations.

Smith was appointed by the Biden Administration’s Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate President Trump’s efforts to combat voter fraud in the 2020 election, as well as his alleged possession of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. Both cases were ultimately dismissed; the documents case was dismissed in July by Judge Aileen Cannon, who ruled that Smith’s appointment as Special Counsel was unconstitutional. Smith himself requested a complete dismissal of the voter fraud case following President Trump’s victory in the 2024 election.

Shortly before his resignation in January, Smith disclosed to the DOJ that his team had received at least $140,000 in free legal advice from Covington & Burling.

“As a result of those actions, we’re now going to be suspending and putting under review security clearances for employees at that firm and holding people responsible,” said White House Staff Secretary Will Scharf on Tuesday.

“I also direct the Attorney General and heads of agencies to take such actions as are necessary to terminate any engagement of Covington & Burling LLP by any agency to the maximum extent permitted by law and consistent with the memorandum that shall be issued by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget,” the president’s memo added.