WASHINGTON — The Justice Department’s political appointees will be barred from attending partisan events prior to the midterm elections, under a new policy enacted amid scrutiny over the FBI search of former President Donald Trump’s Florida home.
Until now, political appointees have been allowed to generally participate in political activities such as campaign events during their time off as long as they adhered to some restrictions, such as not addressing a rally or convention for a candidate for office.
Under the new policy approved by Attorney General Merrick Garland and released Tuesday, employees who hold political positions no longer can even attend a partisan event during their personal time prior to the November election.
“As department employees, we have been entrusted with the authority and responsibility to enforce the laws of the United States in a neutral and impartial manner,” Garland wrote in a message to employees. “In fulfilling this responsibility, we must do all we can to maintain public trust and ensure that politics — both in fact and appearance — does not compromise or affect the integrity of our work.”
Political employees are some of the most senior officials within the department, such as U.S. attorneys and division heads, whereas career employees represent the bulk of the department’s workforce, such as line prosecutors and assistant U.S. attorneys.
The new policy comes as the department and FBI are under heightened scrutiny for investigating actions by Trump, including whether he broke criminal laws or compromised national security by stashing documents with classification markings at his Mar-a-Lago resort after he left office.
The department and FBI also are investigating whether Trump and his allies broke laws with regard to their efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, which Trump lost to President Joe Biden.
The new policy is included in a memo that the department issues every two years prior to an election advising employees of restrictions they must abide by, including use of social media and other activities prohibited under the 1939 Hatch Act that restricts certain political activities of federal employees.
