Late Friday Donald Trump's White House issued a memo directing Secretary of Homeland Security L Kristi Noem and Attorney General Pam Bondi to use the full force of their respective departments to pursue lawyers and law firms for supposed "Abuses of the Legal System and the Federal Court."
Coming hot on the heels of the president bullying noted law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP to accede to his demands in return for rescinding an executive order directed at the firm, Politico is reporting the president is spreading a wider net.
According to the report, a memorandum went out late Friday order instructing, "Lawyers and law firms that engage in actions that violate the laws of the United States or rules governing attorney conduct must be efficiently and effectively held accountable.”
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Politico's Ali Bianco is reporting, "In it, Trump directs Bondi to seek sanctions against lawyers and law firms that 'engage in frivolous, unreasonable, and vexatious litigation against the United States.' He also pushes Bondi and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem to 'prioritize enforcement' of proper attorney conduct."
The report notes that directive asks Bondi to investigate "the conduct of lawyers or law firms over the last eight years for misconduct."
"Friday’s memorandum comes as the nation’s law firms are already running scared over Trump’s promised retribution. Several lawyers that spoke to POLITICO shared their fear after the executive orders targeting specific law firms in a retaliatory spree connected to his political rivals," Politico is reporting.
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