Justice Department expands its retribution to American Bar Association

Amid a tumultuous and controversial campaign of executive orders targeting major law firms, the Justice Department is now adding the American Bar Association to its target list, according to a memo obtained by CBS News. 

In the memo dated Friday and shared with Justice Department employees, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche ordered that "the Department of Justice will no longer use taxpayer funds to pay for any travel to or engagement with ABA events. Additionally, department employees may not, when acting in their official capacities, speak at, attend, or otherwise participate in events hosted by the ABA." 

The memo from Blanche, who previously served as Trump's private defense attorney, blasts the American Bar Association as "activist" and willing to "insert itself into pending litigation." The ABA is a professional organization for lawyers, judges and law students in the U.S., and with about 400,000 members, it's the largest voluntary professional organization for lawyers in the world.