Bar Association Wins Block On Trump’s Retaliation

Courthouse News reports:

A federal judge ruled that the Justice Department had wrongfully retaliated against the American Bar Association by terminating grants meant to fund domestic violence and sexual assault victim services.

U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper, granting a preliminary injunction, found that the cancellations were a clear violation of the ABA’s First Amendment right to speak free of government interference and targeted the legal association for opposing the Trump administration in court.

On April 9, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche [photo] issued a memorandum decrying the ABA’s “support of activist causes” and prohibited Justice Department employees from participating in ABA-sponsored events, renewing personally paid-for ABA memberships and any engagement that would support ABA-sponsored publications.

Read the full article.

Federal District Judge Christopher Cooper ruled that Trump violated the First Amendment rights of the American Bar Association by stripping federal grants from them as retaliation.https://t.co/8RCxoH3v2h

— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) May 14, 2025