Header: Office of the Attorney General Washington, D.C. 20530
January 22, 2025
MEMORANDUM FOR ALL DEPARTMENT EMPLOYEES FROM: THE ACTING ATTORNEY GENERAL SUBJECT: Closure of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) Programs at the Department of Justice (DOJ)
We are taking steps to close all DOJ DEIA offices and end all DEIA-related contracts in accordance with President Trump's executive orders titled "Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI programs and Preferencing and Initial Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions."
These programs divided Americans by race, wasted taxpayer dollars, and resulted in shameful discrimination.
We are aware of efforts by some in government to disguise these programs by using coded or imprecise language. If you are aware of a change in any contract description or personnel positon description since November 5, 2024 to obscure the connection between the contract and DEIA or similar ideologies, please report all facts and circumstances to [email protected] within 10 days.
There will be no adverse consequences for timely reporting this information. However failure to report this information within 10 days may result in adverse consequences.
Thank you for your attention to this important matter.
Header: Office of the Attorney General Washington, D.C. 20530
February 5, 2025
MEMORANDUM FOR ALL DEPARTMENT EMPLOYEES FROM: THE ACTING ATTORNEY GENERAL SUBJECT: RESTORING THE INTEGRITY AND CREDIBILITY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE[1]
The Department of Justice must take immediate and overdue steps to restore integrity and credibility with the public that we are charged with protecting, and to ensure that the Department's personnel are ready and willing to faithfully implement the policy agenda of the duly elected President of the United states. These steps are required because, as President Trump pointed out following his second inauguration, "[t]he prior administration and allies throughout the country engaged in an unprecedented, third-world weaponization of prosecutorial power to upend the democratic process." Executive Order, Ending the Weaponization of The Federal Government (Jan. 20, 2025). Thus, "[t]he American people have witnessed the previous administration engage in a systematic campaign against its perceived political opponents, weaponizing the legal force of numerous Federal law enforcement agencies and the Intelligence Community against those perceived political opponents in the form of investigations, prosecutions, civil enforcement actions and other related actions." Id.
The reconciliation and restoration of the Department of Justice's core values can only be accomplished through review and accountability. The Department has already started this process but much more work is required. No one who as acted with a righteous spirit and just intentions has any cause for concern about efforts to root out corruption and weaponization. On the other hand, the Department of Justice will not tolerate abuses of the criminal justice process, coercive behavior, or other forms of misconduct.
I hereby establish the Weaponization Working Group, which will be led by the Office of the Attorney General and supported by the Office of the Deputy Attorney General, the Office of Legal Policy , the Civil Rights Division, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, and other personnel as necessary to achieve the objectives set forth herein. The Weaponization Working Group will conduct a review the activities of all departments and agencies exercising
Footnote: [1] This guidance is not intended to, does not, and may not be relied upon to create, any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officer, employees, or agents, or any other person.
Memorandum for all Departments Employees Page 2 Subject: Restoring the Integrity and Credibility of the Department of Justice
civil or criminal enforcement authority of the United States over the last four years, in consultation with the heads of such departments and agencies and consistent with applicable law, to identify instances where a department's or agency's conduct appears to have been designed to achieve political objectives or other improper aims rather than pursuing justice or legitimate governmental objectives. The Department of Justice will provide quarterly reports to the White House regarding the progress of the review.
During this review, the Weaponization Working Group will examine, among other things:
- Weaponization by Special Counsel Jack Smith and his staff, who spent more than $50 million targeting President Trump, and the prosecutors and law enforcement personnel who participated in the unprecedented raid on President Trump's home.
- Federal cooperation with the weaponization by the Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, New York Attorney General Letitia James, their respective staffs, and other New York officials to target President Trump, his family, and his businesses.
- The pursuit of improper investigate tactics and unethical prosecutions relating to events at or near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021 -- as distinct from good-faith actions by federal employees simply following orders from superiors -- which diverted resources from combatting violent and serious crime and thus, were pursued at the expense of the safety of residents of the District of Columbia.
- The January 25, 2023, memorandum in which the Federal Bureau of Investigation suggested that certain Catholic religious practices were affiliated with violent extremism and criminal activity.
- Prior Justice Department guidance, policy memoranda, and practices concerning the investigation of parents of school children who expressed sincere, good-faith concerns at local government meetings, including the October 4, 2021 memorandum of former Attorney General Merrick Garland regarding these issues.[2]
- Criminal prosecutions under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act for non-violent protest activity.
- The retaliatory targeting, and in some instances criminal prosecution, of legitimate whistleblowers.
Footnote: [2] For the avoidance of doubt, former Attorney General Garland's October 4, 2021, Memorandum is hereby rescinded.
Header: Office of the Attorney General Washington, D.C. 20530
February 5, 2025
MEMORANDUM FOR ALL DEPARTMENT EMPLOYEES FROM: THE ACTING ATTORNEY GENERAL SUBJECT: GENERAL POLICY REGARDING ZEALOUS ADVOCACY ON BEHALF OF THE UNITED STATES[1]
It is the job of an attorney privileged to serve in the Department of Justice to zealously defend the interests of the United States. Those interests, and the overall policy of the United States, are set by the Nation's Chief Executive, who is vested by the Constitution with all "[E]xecutive Power." More broadly, attorneys are expected to zealously advance, protect, and defend their client's interests. Department of Justice attorneys have signed up for a job that requires zealously advocating for the United States.
The responsibilities of Department of Justice attorneys include not only aggressively enforcing criminal and civil laws enacted by Congress, but also vigorously defending presidential policies and actions against legal challenges on behalf of the United states. The discretion afforded Department attorneys entrusted with those responsibilities does not include latitude to substitute personal political views or judgement for those that prevailed in the election.
When Department of Justice attorneys, for example, refuse to advance good-faith arguments by declining to appear in court or sign briefs, it undermines the constitutional order and deprives the President of the benefit of his lawyers. It is therefore the policy of the Department of Justice that any attorney who because of their personal political views or judgements declines to sign a brief or appear in court, refuses to advance good-faith arguments on behalf of the Administration, or otherwise delays or impedes the Department's mission will be subject to discipline and potentially termination, consistent with applicable law.
Footnote: [1] This guidance is not intended to, does not, and may not be relied upon to create, any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officer, employees, or agents, or any other person.
