The Trump administration filed a motion on Friday seeking to disqualify Judge Beryl A. Howell from presiding over a lawsuit brought by the law firm Perkins Coie over an executive order stripping its lawyers of their security clearances and denying them access to government buildings.
In the motion, lawyers for the Justice Department argued that Judge Howell, of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, had “repeatedly demonstrated partiality against and animus towards the president,” complaining about comments she made during hearings in the Perkins Coie case, as well as remarks in other proceedings and public appearances.
“Defendants deserve a court proceeding free from concerns about impartiality,” the motion read, demanding that Judge Howell recuse herself and “return this matter to assignment before a judge free from any appearance of hostility toward this administration and is otherwise unconnected with any matter related” to past investigations of the president.
Earlier this week, the Trump administration tried to get another judge on the court removed, accusing Judge James E. Boasberg of “highly unusual and improper procedures” in a case challenging the Trump administration’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to accelerate deportations of Venezuelan migrants.
Last week, Judge Howell issued a temporary restraining order in the Perkins Coie case, precluding the administration from barring the firm’s lawyers from accessing the government, though it did not reinstitute their security clearances.
It was her latest ruling against President Trump and his allies, who have taken umbrage at some of her past decisions, particularly in her oversight of grand jury investigations in inquiries involving his ties with Russia and his handling of classified documents.
In 2019, Judge Howell ruled that the House, then run by Democrats, had a right to view the secret grand jury materials that had been redacted from a report examining Mr. Trump’s dealings with Russia, prepared by a team led by then-special counsel Robert S. Mueller III.
Last month, she ruled that the Federal Bureau of Investigation had to disclose some records from its investigation into Mr. Trump’s handling of classified documents, even though it was no longer investigating him.
And in between, she made several decisions regarding the grand jury investigations into the cases stemming from the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, earning the ire of Mr. Trump and his followers.
Friday’s motion cited Judge Howell’s past handling of cases involving Mr. Mueller’s report, as well as the subsequent investigation by another special counsel, John Durham, into the origins of the F.B.I.’s inquiry into Mr. Trump’s ties to Russia. It also listed complaints over how Judge Howell had, in a November 2023 speech, made an oblique reference to how the country could make a move toward “authoritarianism,” a reference that prompted some House Republicans at the time to file a complaint against her. She did not mentioned Mr. Trump by name.
“This court has not kept its disdain for President Trump secret,” the motion reads. “It has voiced its thoughts loudly — both inside and outside the courtroom.”
