Attorney General Merrick Garland is clamping down on the potential politicization of the Justice Department after substantial pressure from congressional Republicans.
On Tuesday, Garland revealed in a memo sent to Justice Department staff that all "non-career employees" appointed by presidential administrations will now be prohibited from participating in political campaign events of any form.
"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 wrote.
"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," he continued. "It is in that spirit that I have added these new restrictions on political activities by non-career employees."
The new policy reverses previous guidelines in the department, which allowed political appointees to irregularly attend partisan events if they obtained prior approval and participated quietly, according to The Hill.
Under the old rules, attendance of political events was also often restricted during presidential election years — with exceptions made for those with close family members running for office.
Garland's new policy is another indication that the Justice Department is attempting to regain credibility with Republican officials and voters following its raid of former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence earlier this month.
Just yesterday, several sources told The Washington Times that FBI assistant special agent in charge Timothy Thibault had exited the agency after allegations of toxic partisanship was levied against him by multiple former FBI officials.
It is still unclear whether Thibault was forced out or resigned. In a May press release, the agent was called out publicly by Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, for alleged political favoritism in the Hunter Biden laptop probe.
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