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Trump Justice Dept. Seeks to Stall State Bar Discipline of Its Lawyers
The administration has no control over the disciplinary authorities of state bar associations, but a new proposal would let the attorney general ask them to suspend proceedings involving department lawyers.
Attorney General Pam Bondi during a House Judiciary Committee hearing last month. Eric Lee for The New York Times
By Devlin Barrett
Reporting from Washington
March 4, 2026, 11:50 a.m. ET
The Justice Department is seeking to intervene in state bar associations� disciplinary proceedings against its lawyers, reflecting a growing fear among administration officials that attorneys who do their bidding could be punished by legal ethics organizations and lose their ability to practice law.
A notice posted online in the Federal Register seeks to give the Justice Department priority in investigating any allegations of wrongdoing by its own lawyers. ... But the department has no control over state bar disciplinary authorities, and the proposal envisions merely requesting that a state bar association �suspend any parallel investigations until the completion of the department�s review.�
The move comes as career lawyers in the department have repeatedly balked at carrying out orders they view as unethical or which could cause them to lose their licenses, according to multiple people familiar with those discussions who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal ethics disputes.
A Justice Department spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Federal Register notice was reported earlier by Bloomberg.
{snip}
Devlin Barrett covers the Justice Department and the F.B.I. for The Times.
The administration has no control over the disciplinary authorities of state bar associations, but a new proposal would let the attorney general ask them to suspend proceedings involving department lawyers.
Attorney General Pam Bondi during a House Judiciary Committee hearing last month. Eric Lee for The New York Times
By Devlin Barrett
Reporting from Washington
March 4, 2026, 11:50 a.m. ET
The Justice Department is seeking to intervene in state bar associations� disciplinary proceedings against its lawyers, reflecting a growing fear among administration officials that attorneys who do their bidding could be punished by legal ethics organizations and lose their ability to practice law.
A notice posted online in the Federal Register seeks to give the Justice Department priority in investigating any allegations of wrongdoing by its own lawyers. ... But the department has no control over state bar disciplinary authorities, and the proposal envisions merely requesting that a state bar association �suspend any parallel investigations until the completion of the department�s review.�
The move comes as career lawyers in the department have repeatedly balked at carrying out orders they view as unethical or which could cause them to lose their licenses, according to multiple people familiar with those discussions who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal ethics disputes.
A Justice Department spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Federal Register notice was reported earlier by Bloomberg.
{snip}
Devlin Barrett covers the Justice Department and the F.B.I. for The Times.
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