WASHINGTON, March 28, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday placing restrictions on the former law firm of the prosecutor who investigated suspected Russian ties during his first term.

The order penalizes law firm WilmerHale by rescinding security clearances, canceling government contracts and limiting access to federal government buildings for employees of the firm.

Special counsel Robert Mueller, who investigated whether the Trump campaign conspired with Russia during the 2016 election, worked at the law firm before his appointment and after the probe's conclusion until his retirement in 2021.

The Republican president has moved since returning to office to settle scores with the law firms that have represented his political foes or dragged him into court on civil or criminal charges.

Trump has signed executive orders targeting four other "Big Law" firms, some of which have filed complaints in response to the restrictions. Others have cut deals with the president.

Mueller and the FBI both investigated alleged collusion between Russia and Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, probes that Trump has repeatedly decried as the "Russia hoax."

Mueller won convictions of six members of the Trump campaign but said he found no evidence of criminal cooperation with Russia by the Trump campaign.