Presidential Memorandum Names Marc Elias and Directs the Attorney General to Seek Sanctions Against Lawyers Who Sue the Government

The White House posted a presidential memorandum to the Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security, Preventing Abuses of the Legal System and the Federal Court, dated on the page March 22, 2025 (posting date). Among the 2025 actions against law firms, it is the presidential document that names Marc Elias.

Who it names. Its opening example of “grossly unethical misconduct” is “Marc Elias, founder and chair of Elias Law Group LLP,” over the 2016 dossier.

What it directs. The Attorney General is “to seek sanctions against attorneys and law firms who engage in frivolous, unreasonable, and vexatious litigation against the United States”; to refer attorneys for discipline “particularly in cases that implicate national security, homeland security, public safety, or election integrity”; and to review attorneys’ conduct “in litigation against the Federal Government over the last 8 years.” Follow-on steps it lists include “reassessment of security clearances” and ending federal contracts.

What it does not do. It imposes nothing on Elias Law Group itself; it is a standing instruction to the Justice Department. Elias Law Group is counsel in several 2026 suits against federal agencies.