‘Recent examples of grossly unethical misconduct are far too common,’ the president said.
President Donald Trump has ordered two top officials to take action against lawyers and law firms he says are violating the law and rules, as his administration faces an onslaught of lawsuits targeting his policies.
Trump on March 22 directed Attorney General Pam Bondi and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to enforce laws and regulations concerning attorney conduct.
Bondi shall refer for disciplinary action any attorneys whose conduct in federal court “appears to violate professional conduct rules, including rules governing meritorious claims and contentions, and particularly in cases that implicate national security, homeland security, public safety, or election integrity,” the order states.
Trump also said that when Bondi determines an attorney or a law firm has been acting in violation of the rules, she shall recommend to him additional steps, including the possible termination of security clearances.
Trump has recently revoked the security clearances of multiple law firms, although one such revocation was rescinded after the firm pledged to give the government free legal services.
The directive also says that Noem should focus on enforcing attorney conduct and discipline regulations.
The order cites a federal rule that bars attorneys from presenting legal filings for an “improper purpose,” such as harassment, causing unnecessary delay, or “needlessly increas[ing] the cost of litigation.”
Trump said that examples of unethical misconduct from recent years “are far too common.” He referenced how Marc Elias, founder of the Elias Law Group LLP, helped create the dossier compiled on behalf of Hillary Clinton’s campaign in the lead-up to the 2016 presidential election.
The president also said that law firms involved in immigration cases “frequently coach clients to conceal their past or lie about their circumstances when asserting their asylum claims, all in an attempt to circumvent immigration policies enacted to protect our national security and deceive the immigration authorities and courts into granting them undeserved relief.”
In a fact sheet, the White House said the president “is delivering on his promise to end the weaponization of government and protect the nation from partisan and bad faith actors who exploit their influence.”
Elias said in a statement that he would “not be deterred from fighting for democracy in court.”
“There will be no negotiation with this White House about the clients we represent or the lawsuits we bring on their behalf,” he said.
Other lawyers also responded negatively to the order.
“Trump’s new memo underscores how far removed this President, Attorney General and Administration are from our nation’s Constitution and bedrock values. Our liberties depend on lawyers’ willingness to represent unpopular people and causes, including in matters adverse to the Federal Government,” lawyers at the Keker, Van Nest & Peters law firm said in a statement.
“An attack on lawyers who perform this work is inexcusable and despicable. Our profession owes every client zealous legal representation without fear of retribution, regardless of their political affiliation or ability to pay.”
Others praised the development.
Rep. Abe Hamadeh (R-Ariz.) said that the directive was important.
“So many of these cases are not brought in good faith, & it’s time to stop tolerating legal misconduct on behalf of political parties & partisan agendas,” he wrote on social media platform X.
The Trump administration has been sued more than 100 times since Trump took office on Jan. 20. Federal judges have blocked many of the government’s policies, including the dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development and terminating some 25,000 newer employees.
Trump, in a previous memorandum, directed U.S. officials to ask courts to force plaintiffs bringing cases against the government to post a bond equal to the government’s costs and damages from injunctions that are ultimately overturned.
“Activist organizations fueled by hundreds of millions of dollars in donations and sometimes even Government grants have obtained sweeping injunctions far beyond the scope of relief contemplated by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, functionally inserting themselves into the executive policy making process and therefore undermining the democratic process,” the memo states.