Trump DOJ Pushes to Sideline State Bar Ethics Investigations (2)

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: Bloomberg Law

US Law Week

Trump DOJ Pushes to Sideline State Bar Ethics Investigations (2)

March 4, 2026, 9:13 AM EST; Updated: March 4, 2026, 11:32 AM EST

Ben Penn
Senior Reporter

The Justice Department has proposed a regulation seeking to authorize Attorney General Pam Bondi to suspend state bar ethics investigations into current and former DOJ lawyers�a step outside attorneys quickly criticized as an illegal intervention into state-run processes.

The proposal, posted in the Federal Register Wednesday, would aim to halt state-level ethics proceedings against DOJ lawyers while the department conducts its own review, which would diminish local bar associations� power. It comes as Bondi and members of her leadership team have faced ethics complaints requesting the state where they�re barred probe their alleged misconduct in running DOJ.

The department unveiled the unexpected policy by saying the change is necessary in light of the "weaponization" of the bar complaint process.

If finalized after a public comment period, �whenever a third party files a bar complaint alleging that a current or former Department attorney violated an ethics rule while engaging in that attorney�s duties for the Department, or whenever bar disciplinary authorities open an investigation into such allegations,� the attorney general �will have the right to review the complaint and the allegations in the first instance,� the proposal states.

{snip}

Read more: https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/trump-doj-pushes-to-sideline-state-bar-ethics-investigations

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It's in tomorrow's Federal Register.

 https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2026-04347

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Reposted by Virtually Unlimited Supply of Popehat
https://bsky.app/profile/kenwhite.bsky.social

JUST IN: Trump DOJ proposes surprise rule aiming to let Attorney General Pam Bondi suspend state bar investigations into alleged misconduct by DOJ lawyers. Very unclear if there'd be legal authority for the AG to intervene in this manner.
news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

— Ben Penn (@benjaminpenn.bsky.social) 2026-03-04T14:23:01.554Z

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Ben Penn
‪@benjaminpenn.bsky.social‬

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JUST IN: Trump DOJ proposes surprise rule aiming to let Attorney General Pam Bondi suspend state bar investigations into alleged misconduct by DOJ lawyers. Very unclear if there'd be legal authority for the AG to intervene in this manner.
https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/trump-doj-pushes-to-sideline-state-bar-ethics-investigations

Trump DOJ Pushes to Sideline State Bar Ethics Investigations
The Justice Department has proposed a regulation seeking to authorize Attorney General Pam Bondi's intervention to suspend state bar ethics investigations into current and former DOJ lawyers.
news.bloomberglaw.com
9:23 AM * Mar 4, 2026
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[mahatmakanejeeves]

1. Trump Justice Dept. Seeks to Stall State Bar Discipline of Its Lawyers

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.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

2. Federal Register

Justice Department
Proposed Rules
Review of State Bar Complaints and Allegations Against Department of Justice Attorneys
Filed on: 03/04/2026 at 8:45 am
Scheduled Pub. Date: 03/05/2026
FR Document: 2026-04390
PDF 24 Pages (154 KB) Permalink

[LetMyPeopleVote]

3. DOJ attempts to evade state ethics oversight of its attorneys

Many of the experienced DOJ attorneys have left or been fired and the ones left are not necessarily the brightest. Bondi has had to hire some real idiots to pursue trump's demands.

Link to tweet

https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/justice-department-attorneys-state-bar-investigations-newrule/

The Department of Justice (DOJ) is attempting to short-circuit state bar ethics investigations into department attorneys through a new and unexpected proposed rule.

Posted in the Federal Register Wednesday, the proposed regulation seeks to suspend any state ethics proceedings against current or former DOJ attorneys if the department decides to conduct its own review first.

If finalized after a 30-day public comment period, the proposed regulation would in theory allow the DOJ to head off any state bar investigation into a DOJ lawyer by opening — and indefinitely stalling — its own investigation into the attorney......

All U.S. attorneys, including those in the DOJ, must be licensed by a state bar association to practice law in the U.S. Such associations are responsible for investigating ethics complaints against the lawyers they license, and if necessary, taking disciplinary actions for misconduct, including suspending law licenses and permanent disbarment.

“Subverting state bar authorities would give DOJ lawyers carte blanche to violate ethics rules,” Barb McQuade, a University of Michigan law professor and a former U.S. attorney, said in a social media post Wednesday reacting to the proposed regulation.

The regulation and discipline of attorneys is a job for the Bar Association of each state. Lawyers are regulated and disciplined by their state bar association. trump is ordering the DOJ to pursue meritless acts of vengeance and the attorneys who pursue these actions need to be subject to state bar discipline

[LetMyPeopleVote]

6. MS NOW- The DOJ's ethics proposal would have a corrupt fox guarding the henhouse

If Attorney General Pam Bondi has her way, an extremely important guardrail could disappear.

The DOJ’s ethics proposal would have a corrupt fox guarding the henhouse
If Attorney General Pam Bondi has her way, an extremely important guardrail could disappear.

www.ms.now/opinion/doj-...

— (@creolenl.bsky.social) 2026-03-18T12:21:25.382Z

https://www.ms.now/opinion/doj-ethics-proposal-pam-bondi

State bar associations play an important accountability role across the country. Trump administration lawyers know that their legal licenses are subject to censure, because practicing law in the United States remains a privilege, not a right. But if Attorney General Pam Bondi has her way, even this guardrail could disappear.

Last week, Bondi proposed a new rule that would allow the Department of Justice to take over investigations of alleged attorney misconduct of its own lawyers. State bar authorities would have to pause their investigations while the Justice Department conducts its own probe. The rule gives the DOJ the ability to delay or even derail a state investigation.

It doesn’t feel like a coincidence that there has been a series of state ethics complaints filed against Trump administration lawyers, including Bondi, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and federal prosecutors handling immigration cases. President Donald Trump’s polarizing pardon attorney Ed Martin is currently facing just such a complaint from the D.C. Bar.,,,,

Federal law requires all federal prosecutors to comply with the ethics rules of the state where they practice law, including the District of Columbia. The new rule requires Justice Department lawyers to obey the substance of their state’s ethics rules, but gives the DOJ the authority to investigate violations. According to the proposal, whenever a bar grievance is filed, “the Department will have the right to review the allegations in the first instance and shall request that the bar disciplinary authority suspend any parallel investigations until the completion of the Department’s review.”.....

In the decades since the Watergate scandal, the Justice Department has conducted robust investigations of allegations of ethical misconduct by its own attorneys and imposed discipline. In fact, it was common for state bar authorities to wait for the DOJ to complete its investigations before initiating their own probes, because the federal process held attorneys to standards even higher than state ethics rules. But that landscape changed last year, when Bondi fired the head of the department’s Office of Professional Responsibility and its chief ethics officer. Now there is a risk that DOJ lawyers will be even further sheltered from meaningful ethical oversight.

Bondi has fired the officials at the Office of Professional Responsibility to give the MAGA assholes free reign in violating their ethical responsibilities. These proposed regulations will be challenged if adopted

[LetMyPeopleVote]

4. Lindsey Halligan Is Under Investigation by the Florida Bar (NYT gift link)

The actions of Ms. Halligan, who as a U.S. attorney brought criminal cases against President Trump’s enemies, are under review by the organization that licensed her to practice law.

Link to tweet

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/05/us/politics/lindsey-halligan-investigation-florida-bar.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Q1A.q4l-.DE_3RGfJbitt&smid=nytcore-ios-share

Lindsey Halligan, the former U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia who brought criminal cases against President Trump’s enemies over the objections of career prosecutors, is under investigation by Florida’s bar association, according to a letter the organization sent last month......

An investigation by Florida’s bar association could lead to disbarment, but the process is rigorous and often takes years. Though the bar can open investigations and act as a fact-finder, its recommendations go to an organization called a grievance committee, which has to determine whether there is probable cause to believe an attorney is guilty of misconduct. That recommendation then goes to the state’s courts, which have the power to disbar lawyers.

Still, the prospect of Ms. Halligan losing her license could serve as a check on administration lawyers who have been accused by judges of pushing the boundaries of the law or intentionally misleading the courts, which has happened frequently in recent months. It could also deter attorneys considering working for the Justice Department, which is eagerly looking to hire to replace the many employees who quit or were fired last year.

On Wednesday, the administration posted a notice in the Federal Register that suggested it was seeking to intervene in state bar associations’ disciplinary proceedings.

The Justice Department has no apparent legal authority over state bar disciplinary organizations, and its proposal suggested that it would request that a state bar association “suspend any parallel investigations” until the department completes its own review. But legal experts said that even a request like that by the administration could be interpreted by bar associations as a threat.....

The Florida bar’s investigation into Ms. Halligan centers on her conduct as the interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, when she went before grand juries to seek indictments against two of Mr. Trump’s longtime targets. Her predecessor was forced out after he determined that there was not enough evidence to bring criminal charges against those targets, the former F.B.I. director James B. Comey and New York’s attorney general, Letitia James.

Bondi and the DOJ do not want State Bar Associations investigation the unethical and incompetent attorneys now working at the DOJ. Halligan should be disbarred

[LetMyPeopleVote]

5. MS NOW- The DOJ's ethics proposal would have a corrupt fox guarding the henhouse

If Attorney General Pam Bondi has her way, an extremely important guardrail could disappear.

The DOJ’s ethics proposal would have a corrupt fox guarding the henhouse
If Attorney General Pam Bondi has her way, an extremely important guardrail could disappear.

www.ms.now/opinion/doj-...

— (@creolenl.bsky.social) 2026-03-18T12:21:25.382Z

https://www.ms.now/opinion/doj-ethics-proposal-pam-bondi

State bar associations play an important accountability role across the country. Trump administration lawyers know that their legal licenses are subject to censure, because practicing law in the United States remains a privilege, not a right. But if Attorney General Pam Bondi has her way, even this guardrail could disappear.

Last week, Bondi proposed a new rule that would allow the Department of Justice to take over investigations of alleged attorney misconduct of its own lawyers. State bar authorities would have to pause their investigations while the Justice Department conducts its own probe. The rule gives the DOJ the ability to delay or even derail a state investigation.

It doesn’t feel like a coincidence that there has been a series of state ethics complaints filed against Trump administration lawyers, including Bondi, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and federal prosecutors handling immigration cases. President Donald Trump’s polarizing pardon attorney Ed Martin is currently facing just such a complaint from the D.C. Bar.,,,,

Federal law requires all federal prosecutors to comply with the ethics rules of the state where they practice law, including the District of Columbia. The new rule requires Justice Department lawyers to obey the substance of their state’s ethics rules, but gives the DOJ the authority to investigate violations. According to the proposal, whenever a bar grievance is filed, “the Department will have the right to review the allegations in the first instance and shall request that the bar disciplinary authority suspend any parallel investigations until the completion of the Department’s review.”.....

In the decades since the Watergate scandal, the Justice Department has conducted robust investigations of allegations of ethical misconduct by its own attorneys and imposed discipline. In fact, it was common for state bar authorities to wait for the DOJ to complete its investigations before initiating their own probes, because the federal process held attorneys to standards even higher than state ethics rules. But that landscape changed last year, when Bondi fired the head of the department’s Office of Professional Responsibility and its chief ethics officer. Now there is a risk that DOJ lawyers will be even further sheltered from meaningful ethical oversight.

Bondi has fired the officials at the Office of Professional Responsibility to give the MAGA assholes free reign in violating their ethical responsibilities. These proposed regulations will be challenged if adopted