Garland imposes new restrictions on political appointees at Justice Department

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Garland imposes new restrictions on political appointees at Justice Department

Zoë Richards and Ryan J. Reilly and Ken Dilanian

4-5 minutes

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Attorney General Merrick Garland on Tuesday tightened restrictions on high-level employees at the Justice Department by prohibiting them from engaging in "partisan political activities."

The policy change, announced in a memo a little more than two months before the midterm elections, reverses a long-standing department policy that allowed political appointees, also known as non-career employees, to attend fundraisers and campaign events as passive bystanders.

The new rules come on the heels of accusations of political bias from congressional Republicans and Trump supporters after the FBI searched former President Donald Trump’s Florida estate on Aug. 8.

“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 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.”

Garland’s directive followed memos from the acting assistant attorney general for administration, Jolene Lauria, reminding political appointees of existing policies about restrictions stemming from the Hatch Act, which is aimed at establishing a politically neutral workplace for government workers.

The 1939 law prohibits federal employees from engaging in political activities while on duty, in federal facilities or using federal property. The Justice Department's previous policy allowed appointees to passively attend political events if they had obtained approval from supervisors.

Related video: Trump sent apparent threat to Attorney General Garland after search

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Busted and panicking: Trump sent apparent threat to Attorney General after search

Legal heat on Donald Trump intensifying as The New York Times reports on an unusual backchannel message Trump sent to Attorney General Garland, saying "the country is on fire" and adding he wants to help "reduce the heat." It comes amid an “unprecedented” rise in threats to the FBI after Trump's Mar-A-Lago home was legally searched. Former FBI special agent Asha Rangappa says it's wrong for a search subject to send that kind of message, adding: “It was very improper… an act of desperation,” and it “sounded like a veiled quid-pro-quo.”

Under the new policy, Garland said, non-career appointees "may not participate in any partisan political event in any capacity."

The restriction also extends to presidential election years, removing an exception for appointees whose close family members are running for partisan offices. Appointees are now prohibited from attending political campaign events, even on Election Day.

“I know you agree it is critical that we hold ourselves to the highest ethical standards to avoid even the appearance of political influence as we carry out the Department’s mission,” Garland wrote. “It is in that spirit that I have added these new restrictions on political activities by non-career employees.”

The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security have warned of a spike in threats to federal law enforcement officials since the Mar-a-Lago search and subsequent GOP claims that the Biden administration weaponized the Justice Department against Trump.

In a separate memo to Justice Department employees Tuesday, Garland highlighted Justice Department rules about communications with Congress. “Like the policies regarding communications with the White House, these policies ‘are designed to protect our criminal and civil law enforcement decisions, and our legal judgments, from partisan or other inappropriate influences, whether real or perceived, direct or indirect,’” Garland wrote.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com