Attorney General Merrick Garland listens at a news conference at the Department of Justice on June 25, 2021 in Washington, D.C. | Anna Moneymaker/Getty ImagesAttorney General Merrick Garland issued a long-awaited directive Wednesday seeking to limit political influence on law enforcement matters by strictly limiting contacts between Justice Department personnel and the White House.
The memo says the president and his staff should not generally be given a heads-up about criminal or civil enforcement actions, although the directive does contemplate exceptions. Garland’s directive does not limit contacts about some matters not related to specific cases, such as budget and criminal justice policy issues. Matters involving national security are also largely exempt from the policy.
“Specific procedures apply to communications with the Department of Justice in order to ensure that DOJ exercises its investigatory and prosecutorial functions free from the fact or appearance of improper political influence,” Remus wrote in. “DOJ plays many different roles — including as a prosecutorial and law enforcement agency, legal adviser to the President and Executive Branch departments and agencies, litigator that defends U.S.
During the Trump administration, the Justice Department issued no White House contacts memo. Officials said they left in place the policy Attorney General Eric Holder issued on the topic in 2009. Trump White House Counsel Donald McGahn did issue a policy on Justice Department contacts on Jan. 27, 2017, just a week after Trump was sworn in.
One administration too late, but good move.
Horse...barn...door. How does it prevent the next bad guy to occupy the office appointing an AG that will reverse it? Or ignore it? It is all about meaningless optics than results with Garland.
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