President Trump wants action against attorneys who sue the federal government

President Donald Trump issued a memorandum Saturday directing federal officials to pursue sanctions against attorneys who bring cases against the government in immigration and election matters.

The directive, titled “Preventing Abuses of the Legal System and the Federal Court,” specifically names prominent voting rights attorney Marc Elias and criticizes immigration lawyers who Trump claims “coach clients to conceal their past.”

Attorney General Pam Bondi must now seek sanctions against lawyers engaging in what the memo describes as “frivolous, unreasonable, and vexatious litigation” and refer attorneys for disciplinary action when their conduct appears to violate professional rules.

The memorandum also instructs officials to review attorney conduct in litigation against the federal government over the past eight years and consider recommending “reassessment of security clearances” or “termination of any contract” for attorneys found to have engaged in misconduct.

Civil liberties advocates immediately condemned the action.

“This is a chilling and unprecedented attack on the foundations of liberty and democracy,” said Cecillia Wang, National Legal Director of the American Civil Liberties Union.

Elias, whose firm specializes in voting rights cases, vowed defiance.

“President Trump’s goal is clear. He wants lawyers and law firms to capitulate and cower until there is no one left to oppose his Administration in court,” Elias said in a statement. “Elias Law Group will not be deterred from fighting for democracy in court.”

Legal experts note the directive represents an unusual presidential intervention into the attorney disciplinary process, which typically operates through bar associations and state supreme courts.

The White House defended the memorandum as necessary to “hold attorneys and law firms accountable for unethical conduct” that threatens national security and election integrity.