1-8.000 - Congressional and White House Relations
| 1-8.100 | Introduction |
| 1-8.200 | Communications with Congress |
| 1-8.210 | Responding to Congressional Requests Generally |
| 1-8.220 | Responding to Congressional Requests for Public Information |
| 1-8.300 | Government Accountability Office (GAO) Contacts |
| 1-8.400 | Official Events with Congressional Members and Staff |
| 1-8.410 | Social Contacts with Congressional Members and Staff |
| 1-8.500 | State and Local Legislative Requests |
| 1-8.600 |
Communications with the White House |
| 1-8.700 | Personnel Decisions Concerning Positions in the Civil Service |
| 1-8.800 | Whistleblower Protections |
| 1-8.900 | Office of the Inspector General |
1-8.100 - Introduction
The rule of law depends upon the evenhanded administration of justice. The legal judgments of the Department of Justice must be impartial and insulated from political influence. It is imperative that the Department’s investigatory and prosecutorial powers be exercised free from partisan consideration. It is a fundamental duty of every employee of the Department to ensure that these principles are upheld in all of the Department’s legal endeavors.
In order to promote the rule of law and to ensure that the Department’s actions are free from the appearance of political influence, this Chapter sets out guidelines to govern all communications between representatives of the Department and representatives of Congress, and procedures intended to implement those guidelines.
1-8.200 - Communications with Congress
The Assistant Attorney General (AAG) for the Office of Legislative Affairs (OLA) is responsible for communications between Congress and the Department under the authority of the Attorney General and the direction of the Deputy Attorney General. See 28 C.F.R. § 0.27. Communications between the Department and Congress, including those pertaining to policy, legislation, political appointments, nominations, intergovernmental and public liaison relations, cases and investigations, and administrative matters, will be managed or coordinated by OLA to ensure that relevant Department or Executive Branch interests are fully protected. Communication between OLA and Department components may be aided by designated component or law enforcement congressional liaisons, as appropriate. However, all component and law enforcement congressional liaisons will follow the direction of the AAG of OLA with regard to communications with Congress.
Except as provided in this chapter, no Department employee may communicate with Senators, Representatives, congressional committees, or congressional staff without advance coordination, consultation, and approval by OLA. All congressional inquiries and correspondence from Members, committees, and staff should be immediately directed to OLA upon receipt. The Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legislative Affairs, in consultation with the Attorney General, Deputy Attorney General, and Associate Attorney General, will determine how best to proceed on particular legislative and oversight matters, including timing, presentation, and selection of Department witnesses to appear before congressional committees. This policy includes requests from Congress for technical and advisory assistance on legislative language or bill text. OLA will also accompany Departmental and component representatives when they represent the Department at hearings, briefings, and meetings with Members of Congress, committees, and staff.
1-8.210 - Responding to Congressional Requests Generally
Except as expressly provided in this section, all congressional member and staff contacts with Department employees, attorneys, offices, boards, divisions, and components, including in-person contacts and contacts by letter, email, telephone, or any other means, must be reported promptly to OLA and the component’s designated congressional liaison, if applicable, before any response.
OLA will manage congressional correspondence, coordinating with the Department’s Executive Secretariat, leadership offices, and components as appropriate. OLA will review prior to transmittal all Departmental written communications to Congress, including letters, responses to Questions for the Record, briefing papers, talking points, slide presentations, and any other materials intended for submission or presentation on Capitol Hill. Likewise, OLA will manage the clearance process through which legislative proposals and views are considered by Department components and the Office of Management and Budget prior to the Department’s views on those matters being communicated to Congress.
In order to ensure that Congress may carry out its legitimate investigatory and oversight functions, the Department will use its best efforts to respond as appropriate to inquiries from Congress consistent with policies, laws, regulations, and professional ethical obligations that may require confidentiality. Because it is important that the Department provide timely responses to congressional inquiries when possible, components should make it a priority to assist OLA in this regard.
In general, other than letters assigned for direct response by the component, letters to Congress and committees should be prepared by the relevant component and sent by the Assistant Attorney General for OLA. Accordingly, when incoming congressional correspondence is circulated to components likely to have responsive information or equities in the subject matter, it is incumbent upon each component’s leadership to ensure the accuracy and completeness of these responses to Congress. Specifically, (1) rigorous efforts must be undertaken to obtain information from Department personnel with the most direct knowledge of the subject matter; (2) component managers are responsible for the accuracy of the information provided to OLA, and therefore should review and clear any congressional response prepared by subordinates; and (3) accuracy always takes priority over any requested deadline.
Department employees should follow these standards in both open and closed cases, and must never provide information on (1) pending investigations; (2) closed investigations that did not become public; (3) grand jury, tax, or other restricted information; or (4) matters that would reveal the identity of confidential informants, sensitive investigative techniques, deliberative processes, the reasoning behind the exercise of prosecutorial discretion, or the identity of individuals who may have been investigated, but not indicted. All requests for these types of information should be referred to OLA, as well as any congressional request that implicates Privacy Act considerations.
1-8.220 - Responding to Congressional Requests for Public Information
Department employees may respond to congressional requests without first contacting OLA when the request is for public information, as defined below, only. Congressional requests for public information must be reported to OLA only if: (1) the congressional request is in letter form (including letters delivered by fax or email); (2) the Member of Congress or staff expresses any opinion about the nature, status, or propriety of any government action or inaction; (3) the Member of Congress or staff suggests any government action or inaction; or (4) the context or nature of the congressional contact creates the appearance that the Member of Congress or staff seeks any government action or inaction.
Public information includes:
- Administrative information, such as office locations, operational hours, public phone numbers, and hiring procedures.
- Documents that are already part of public court records and not under seal or otherwise restricted, such as filed indictments, briefs, etc.
- News releases or other materials meant for public distribution.
- The time and place for the next public court hearing, if already announced.
NOTE: Repeated requests for public information from the same Member of Congress or staff, or from different Members of Congress or staff concerning the same matter or case, should be promptly reported to OLA. If you are unsure if certain information should be released, or whether it is proper to give certain assistance requested, please contact OLA.
1-8.300 - Government Accountability Office (GAO) Contacts
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is an oversight arm of Congress and is often tasked by congressional committees to pursue specific oversight inquiries. GAO will typically notify the Department’s Audit Liaison Group (ALG), positioned within the Justice Management Division, of its upcoming work. The ALG then immediately informs OLA and affected Components of these inquiries. Initial GAO contacts and inquiries made directly to a component should immediately be brought to the attention of OLA and the ALG.
1-8.400 - Official Events with Congressional Members and Staff
All Department personnel must obtain approval from component leadership to participate in their official capacity in events with Members of Congress or staff, including conferences, presentations, courtesy visits, tours, photographs, and similar activities. Component leadership must coordinate with OLA before authorizing invitations to or appearances at such events. Please be aware that the Department has a long-standing policy that most personnel may not participate in media events with congressional members or staff.
1-8.410 - Social Contacts with Congressional Members and Staff
Purely social contacts with Members of Congress or staff need not be reported. However, if during such a contact there is a request for non-public information or a request for public information that otherwise requires reporting, the provisions of sections 1-8.210 and 1-8.220 must be followed. In addition, Department employees are reminded that social contacts and relationships with congressional members and staff, as well as attendance at or participation in political functions and fundraising, are subject to the Department’s policies, as well as legal standards, rules, and requirements. For more information, see https://www.justice.gov/jmd/political-activities. Additionally, when attending purely social events, Department employees should use their best judgment to avoid the appearance of improper political influence.
1-8.500 - State and Local Legislative Requests
State and local legislative requests for public information should be handled in the manner described in section 1-8.210 and 1-8.220. Requests from state and local legislative officials for any other type of information, assistance, testimony, or meeting must be cleared by the Department through OLA. Department personnel acting in their official capacities should not advocate for passage or defeat of state or local legislation, including state or local referenda or ballot initiatives, or otherwise give an opinion on state or local legislation, without prior approval from the Department, except to the extent that Department personnel are participating in an established inter-governmental body expressly charged with participation in or commenting upon state or local practices that may include legislative proposals.
Whenever Department employees make any public communication on criminal justice or other policy matters that touch on local or state concerns, they should be sensitive to comity considerations. The substance and manner of such communications should be designed to enhance and not impede federal, state, and local law enforcement relations; be sensitive to the public appearance of the proper role and limits of federal prosecutors; and give due deference to the separate constitutional powers and responsibilities of state and local officials. The substance of any such communication should be consistent with Department policy in that area, be distributed in an appropriate fashion, be factual in nature, and be based on federal law enforcement concerns, views, and experience.
NOTE: The requirements in this section regarding state and local legislative and other matters do not apply to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, which has unique jurisdictional obligations as the local prosecutor for the District of Columbia.
1-8.600 - Communication with the White House
The “White House,” for purposes of this section, means all components within the Executive Office of the President. Please see the July 21, 2021, Attorney General memorandum Department of Justice Communications with the White House, which is published below in full.
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The success of the Department of Justice depends upon the trust of the American people. That trust must be earned every day. And we can do so only through our adherence to the longstanding Departmental norms of independence from inappropriate influences, the principled exercise of discretion, and the treatment of like cases alike.
Over the course of more than four decades, Attorneys General have issued policies governing communications between the Justice Department and the White House. The procedural safeguards that have long guided the Department’s approach to such communications 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.
This chapter sets out guidelines to govern all communications between Justice Department and White House personnel. As has traditionally been the case, these guidelines have been developed in consultation with, and have the full support of, the Counsel to the President.
A. Communications Concerning Pending or Contemplated Criminal or Civil Law Enforcement Investigations or Cases
- In order to promote and protect the norms of Departmental independence and integrity in making decisions regarding criminal and civil law enforcement, while at the same time preserving the President’s ability to perform his constitutional obligation to “take care that the laws be faithfully executed,” the Justice Department will not advise the White House concerning pending or contemplated criminal or civil law enforcement investigations or cases unless doing so is important for the performance of the President’s duties and appropriate from a law enforcement perspective.
- The Assistant Attorneys General, the United States Attorneys, the heads of the investigative agencies, and their subordinates have the primary responsibility to initiate and supervise law enforcement investigations and cases. In order to insulate them from inappropriate influences, initial communications between the Department and the White House concerning pending or contemplated law enforcement investigations or cases will involve only the Attorney General or Deputy Attorney General, and the Counsel or a Deputy Counsel to the President (or the President or Vice President). If the communications concern pending or contemplated civil law enforcement investigations or cases, the Associate Attorney General may also be involved. Communications about Department personnel regarding their handling of specific law enforcement investigations or cases are included within the requirements of JM 1-8.600(A).
- If further or continuing communications between the Department and the White House on a particular matter are required, the officials who participated in the initial communication may designate subordinates to carry on such communications. The designating officials must monitor subsequent communications, and the designated subordinates must keep their superiors regularly informed of any such communications.
- JM 1-8.600(A) also applies to communications between the Justice Department and the White House concerning the Department’s exercise of its adjudicatory authority, including within the Executive Office for Immigration Review.
- JM 1-8.600(A) is not intended to interfere with the normal communications between the Department and other departments and agencies in their capacities as Department clients (including entities within the Executive Office of the President when they are Department clients) or any meetings or communications necessary to the proper conduct of investigations or litigation in that capacity. However, in matters where the Executive Office of the President is the Department client, Department personnel must keep the Office of the Attorney General or Deputy or Associate Attorney General advised of such communications.
- JM 1-8.600(A) does not prevent officials in the communications, public affairs, or press offices of the Department and the White House from communicating with each other to coordinate communications efforts. However, the relevant offices (the Office of the Attorney General or Deputy or Associate Attorney General, and the Office of the White House Counsel) must be advised and approve of such coordination efforts in advance.
B. Communications Concerning National Security Matters
- It is critically important to have frequent and expeditious communications between the Department and the White House in matters relating to foreign relations and national security, including counterterrorism and counterespionage. Therefore, communications from or to the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, the Principal Deputy National Security Advisor, the Deputy Counsel to the President for National Security Affairs, and the staff of the National Security Council that relate to such matters are not subject to the limitations set out in JM 1-8.600(A) above or JM 1-8.600(F) below. However, the Office of the Attorney General or Deputy Attorney General, and the Office of the White House Counsel, must be kept advised of such communications. Such communications may also be subject to further supervisory guidance designed by those Offices to safeguard both the Department’s independence and national security responsibilities.
- This exception for foreign relations and national security related matters does not extend to domestic matters unrelated to foreign actors or foreign influences when there are no exigent circumstances that would render infeasible the initial communication requirement of JM 1-8.600(A). Nor does the exception extend to pending adversary cases in litigation that may have national security implications. Communications related to such domestic matters and pending cases are subject to the guidelines for pending or contemplated law enforcement investigations or cases described in JM 1-8.600(A). If communications occur in the exigent circumstances described in this paragraph, the Office of the Attorney General or Deputy Attorney General, and the Office of the White House Counsel, must be notified as soon as feasible.
For further guidance on this topic, please see the March 28, 2022, Deputy Attorney General memorandum Communications With The White House Concerning National Security Matters.
C. White House Requests for Legal Opinions
All requests from the White House for formal legal opinions will come from the Counsel or a Deputy Counsel to the President (or the President or Vice President), and will be directed to the Attorney General, Deputy Attorney General, or Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel. The Assistant Attorney General will advise the Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General of any such requests. If further or continuing communications on a particular matter are required, the Assistant Attorney General may designate subordinates to carry on such communications. The Assistant Attorney General will report to the Attorney General or Deputy Attorney General any communications that, in the Assistant Attorney General’s view, constitute improper attempts to influence the Office of Legal Counsel’s legal judgment. All other White House communications with Office of Legal Counsel personnel must be in accordance with the other parts of this memorandum. The Office of the Attorney General or Deputy Attorney General, and the Office of the White House Counsel, must be kept advised of such communications.
D. Communications with the Office of the Solicitor General
Communications between the White House and the Office of the Solicitor General concerning Supreme Court and appellate matters are often appropriate. Any initial such communication will involve only the Counsel or a Deputy Counsel to the President, and the Attorney General, Deputy Attorney General, or Solicitor General. If further or continuing communications on a particular matter are required, the officials who participated in the initial communication may designate subordinates from each side to carry on such communications. The Solicitor General must keep the Office of the Attorney General or Deputy Attorney General advised regarding such communications. All other White House communications with Office of the Solicitor General personnel must be in accordance with the other parts of this memorandum.
E. Communications with the Pardon Attorney
The Pardon Attorney may communicate directly with the Counsel and Deputy Counsels to the President concerning clemency matters. The Pardon Attorney and the Counsel to the President may designate additional subordinates to carry on further communications after the initial communication is made. The Pardon Attorney must keep the Office of the Deputy Attorney General informed of all such communications.
F. Communications Concerning Policy and Intergovernmental Relations
As a department within the Executive Branch, the Justice Department appropriately works to advance the Administration’s policies and intergovernmental relations. Thus, communications between the Department and the White House that are limited to these subjects, and that do not relate to pending or contemplated law enforcement investigations or cases, are appropriate. In order to ensure that such communications do not touch upon the latter (which are the subject of JM 1-8.600(A)), initial communications between the Department and the White House concerning policies and intergovernmental relations will involve the Office of the Attorney General or Deputy or Associate Attorney General, and the Office of the Counsel to the President. If further or continuing communications are appropriate, the officials who participated in the initial communication may authorize other personnel to carry on such communications, who must keep those Offices advised.
G. Communications Concerning Procurement and Grantmaking
Communications between the White House and the Department regarding procurement and grantmaking policies and priorities are appropriate. However, the award of specific contracts and grants are subject to the norm of independence in decision-making.
In order to insulate the Department’s procurement and grantmaking functions from potentially inappropriate influences, initial communications between the Department and the White House concerning procurement and grantmaking will involve only the Offices of the Attorney General or Deputy or Associate Attorney General, and the Office of the Counsel to the President. If further or continuing communications are appropriate, the officials who participated in the initial communication may authorize other personnel to carry on such communications, who must keep those Offices advised.
H. Other Communications Not Relating to Pending or Contemplated Law Enforcement Investigations or Cases
Communications between the Department and the White House that are limited to legislation, budgeting, political appointments, public affairs, or administrative matters that do not relate to pending or contemplated law enforcement investigations or cases may be handled directly by the personnel concerned. Such communications are appropriate, but they must take place with the knowledge of the Department’s lead point of contact regarding the subject, who must keep the Office of the Attorney General or Deputy or Associate Attorney General advised of such communications.
I. Personnel Decisions Concerning Positions in the Civil Service
All personnel decisions regarding career positions in the Department must be made without regard to the applicant’s or occupant’s actual or perceived partisan affiliation. Thus, although the Department regularly receives communications from the White House (as well as from Senators and Members of Congress and their staffs) concerning political appointments, communications regarding positions in the career service are not proper when they concern a job applicant’s or a job holder’s partisan affiliation. Efforts to influence personnel decisions concerning career positions on partisan grounds must be immediately reported to the Deputy Attorney General.
J. Redirection of Communications
Employees of Department components who receive communications outside of these guidelines must immediately redirect those communications to the appropriate official or office under these guidelines, and so advise the relevant official or office.
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As Attorney General Benjamin Civiletti noted in issuing the Department’s first White House communications memorandum in 1979, these guidelines are not intended to wall off the Department from legitimate communications with the Administration. Rather, they are intended to route communications to the appropriate officials so that the communications can be adequately reviewed and considered, free from the appearance or reality of inappropriate influence. As such, these guidelines are an essential element of the norms that ensure the Department's adherence to the rule of law.
1-8.700 - Personnel Decisions Concerning Positions in the Civil Service
All personnel decisions regarding career positions in the Department must be made without regard to the applicant’s or occupant’s partisan affiliation. Thus, while the Department regularly receives communications from the White House and from Senators, Members of Congress, and their staffs concerning political appointments, such communications regarding positions in the career service are not proper when they concern a job applicant’s or a job holder’s partisan affiliation. Efforts to influence personnel decisions concerning career positions on partisan grounds should be reported to the Deputy Attorney General.
1-8.800 - Whistleblower Protections
As provided in JM § 1-7.120, nothing in this Policy is intended to conflict with or limit whistleblower protections, such as those provided in 5 U.S.C. §§ 2302-2303 and applicable regulations. Rather, the provisions of this Policy “are consistent with and do not supersede, conflict with, or otherwise alter the employee obligations, rights, or liabilities created by existing statute or Executive order relating to (1) classified information, (2) communications to Congress, (3) the reporting to an Inspector General of a violation of any law, rule, or regulation, or mismanagement, a gross waste of funds, an abuse of authority, or a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety, or (4) any other whistleblower protection. The definitions, requirements, obligations, rights, sanctions, and liabilities created by controlling Executive orders and statutory provisions are incorporated into this [Policy] and are controlling.” 5 U.S.C. § 2302(b)(13).
1-8.900 - Office of the Inspector General
Consistent with the independence of its operations under the Inspector General Act of 1978, OIG is exempt from the requirements of this Chapter regarding congressional contacts, requests, and approvals, legislative requests or proposals, and GAO contacts. OIG should, however, timely inform the Attorney General, or the Deputy Attorney General upon delegation, about any significant congressional issues in matters handled by OIG.
[added December 2019]