A federal judge sharply rejected a Trump administration request that she recuse herself from a case challenging an executive order targeting Democratic-tied law firm Perkins Coie, accusing the Justice Department of attacking the messenger because it could not attack the message.

The DOJ’s motion was “rife with innuendo” but didn’t “come close to meeting the standard for disqualification,” Judge Howell wrote.

U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell ruled that the defendants’ motion to disqualify her “relies only on speculation, innuendo, and basic legal disagreements that provide no basis for disqualification of a judge.