Judge rules Trump DOJ retaliated against American Bar Association

A federal district judge on Wednesday halted the Justice Department from canceling grants to the American Bar Association, reasoning it was likely done in retaliation for exercising free speech.

Judge Christopher Cooper, an Obama appointee, noted that Mr. Trump’s Justice Department issued rules for its lawyers, including not using tax dollars to travel to ABA events, not participating in ABA events during work hours and requiring approval before participating in any ABA affairs.

Shortly after those new rules were announced, roughly $3 million in grants to the ABA were canceled.

The ABA sued, arguing the Trump administration was retaliating against it because the organization spoke out against officials questioning judicial review and also issued a statement on the “clear and disconcerting pattern” of targeting judges that the administration disagrees with.

The ABA also issued a statement along with other organizations condemning the president’s move to punish certain lawyers and law firms.

Mr. Trump has issued executive orders to restrict the actions of certain law firms that represented or aided his political rivals. The president’s orders aim to remove some of the attorneys’ security clearances, restrict firms’ access to federal buildings and terminate government contracts. Several lawsuits have been filed related to those orders.

The DOJ’s new directives against the ABA were issued a few weeks after the organization’s recent pushback.

Judge Cooper said the ABA’s First Amendment retaliation claim has merit and issued an injunction blocking the grants’ cancellations.

“The First Amendment injury is concrete and ongoing. The ABA regularly engages in protected expressive activity, and DOJ’s termination of its grants directly punishes that activity,” he wrote.

A spokesperson from the Justice Department didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The grants that were canceled, according to court records, included money toward civil litigation skills, trauma-related representation, LGBTQ legal training and violence against women.