The New York City Bar’s warning against lawyers making misleading statements related to the search of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence is the most recent example of professional associations and disciplinary bodies cracking down on false claims by attorneys, legal ethics experts told Bloomberg Law.

The City Bar, a voluntary organization, issued a report Aug. 24 in which it called on attorneys to refrain from making false statements about the search of the former president’s Florida residence earlier this month and the ensuing legal actions and proceedings.

“Words matter and have consequences, particularly when spoken by lawyers and public leaders about contentious legal processes,” the bar said at the outset of its 16-page report.

The association called upon “all members of the bar and political leaders” to refrain from making knowingly false or misleading statements about the Mar-a-Lago search warrant controversy, “to recognize the gravity and significance of the issues raised by this case,” and allow legitimate legal issues to be heard and resolved in court.

One of the attorneys named in the report is Trump lawyer Alina Habba, who, a day after the bureau executed its search warrant, purportedly said during a Fox News interview that the FBI “may have planted something” while searching Trump’s Florida residence.

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