Trump DOJ Pushes to Sideline State Bar Ethics Investigations (2)
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.
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Read more: https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/trump-doj-pushes-to-sideline-state-bar-ethics-investigations
It's in tomorrow's Federal Register.
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2026-04347
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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.
— Ben Penn (@benjaminpenn.bsky.social) 2026-03-04T14:23:01.554Z
news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...
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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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= new reply since forum marked as read
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.
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Devlin Barrett covers the Justice Department and the F.B.I. for The Times.