The New York Times – “President Trump plans to punish a prominent Washington law firm that has aided the former special counsel Jack Smith, seeking to strip security clearances from lawyers and end any federal government work the firm may have, according to people familiar with the matter. The proposal, signed by Mr. Trump on Thursday, targeted the international white-shoe law firm Covington & Burling, which employs high-profile Democratic lawyers who worked in the Obama and Biden administrations. The White House did not immediately release the text of any such directive, but Mr. Trump described it to reporters during the signing of executive orders and offered to send the pen he used to Mr. Smith, according to reporters present. The memo is a breathtaking escalation of Mr. Trump’s effort to employ the vast powers of the presidency against Mr. Smith and the team of prosecutors and federal law enforcement officials who worked for him — extending that campaign to those who have provided Mr. Smith pro bono legal representation. According to a disclosure filed with the Justice Department shortly before resigning as special counsel ahead of Mr. Trump’s return to office, Mr. Smith, a former war crimes prosecutor, said that he had received $140,000 worth of free legal advice from Covington to help him prepare for investigations and legal action by Mr. Trump’s allies. The written directive was expected to revoke any security clearance held by Peter Koski, the Covington lawyer representing Mr. Smith, and any other members of the firm who may have participated in such work…”