US President Donald Trump on Friday night (local time) directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to review the conduct of lawyers and law firms that have filed frivolous lawsuits against the administration or attempted to block immigration initiatives, CNN reported.
In a late-night memorandum, Trump reignited past grievances against lawyers who had opposed him and pledged to penalise those individuals and firms by revoking their security clearances and terminating any federal contracts they held. The move broadened Trump’s crackdown on the legal community in the US.
Trump orders action against attorneys and law firms
“Far too many attorneys and law firms have long ignored these requirements when litigating against the Federal Government or in pursuing baseless partisan attacks,” Trump said in a Presidential memorandum the White House released Saturday.
The memo directs Bondi “to seek sanctions against attorneys and law firms who engage in frivolous, unreasonable, and vexatious litigation against the United States or in matters before executive departments and agencies of the United States.”
It also directs Bondi “to review conduct by attorneys or their law firms in litigation against the Federal Government over the last 8 years” to determine and recommend to the president “additional steps that may be taken, including reassessment of security clearances held by the attorney, termination of any contract for which the relevant attorney or law firm has been hired to perform services, or any other appropriate actions,” Trump said.
