Justice Department says was misled by pregnant immigrant teen's lawyers

Lawyers for a pregnant immigrant teenager who successfully fought a legal battle to have an abortion misled the Justice Department over the timing of the procedure, the government said in a court filing Friday.

In a petition filed at the U.S. Supreme Court, the Justice Department said it had been about to appeal the lower court decision allowing the unnamed girl to have the abortion when it emerged on Oct. 25 that she had already undergone the procedure.

The Justice Department said in the filing that "disciplinary action may therefore be warranted," against the teen's lawyers at the American Civil Liberties Union.

The government is asking for the original lawsuit filed by the ACLU on behalf of the girl and other pregnant teens who may be in immigration detention to be thrown out.

The ACLU had no immediate comment.

The Trump administration argued previously that while the 17-year-old girl from an unidentified country was in federal custody, she was subject to its policy of refusing to facilitate abortions. The girl was detained in Texas in September after entering the United States.