Attorney General Pam Bondi appeared to defy a court's temporary restraining order that stated enforcement of one of President Donald Trump's executive orders should be stopped.
U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell granted the restraining order last week to Perkins Coie, a law firm connected to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the so-called Steele dossier. In his Executive Order 14230, Trump revoked the firm's security clearances and ability to enter government buildings.
Trump's order also required government agencies to ask contractors to disclose business with Perkins Coie. Howell's restraining order required those agencies to rescind disclosures and stop making the requests.
The Trump administration, however, claimed to have found a loophole in the court order allowing it not to notify all impacted agencies. In a Wednesday follow-up order, Howell directed the federal government "to immediately issue guidance to all other agencies" subject to the executive order.
On Thursday, Bondi provided the court with a memo she sent to agencies about the restraining order.
"The Executive Branch's position is that Executive Order 14230 is permissible, and that the Court's order was erroneous," Bondi wrote. "The government reserves the right to take all necessary and legal actions in response to the 'dishonest and dangerous' conduct of Perkins Coie LLP, as set forth in Executive Order 14230."
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Court watchers like appellate attorney Gabriel Malor expressed confusion over Bondi's memo.
"I don't think you can simultaneously say to the agencies, 'the Court told us we are enjoined from enforcing EO 14230, and we are to tell the agencies to rescind any requests under EO 14230, and also we reserve the right to take future actions as set forth in EO 14230' and be in compliance," Malor wrote on BlueSky.