“To prohibit politically motivated prosecutions and investigations, and for other purposes.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section establishes a new criminal offense at 18 U.S.C. 227A prohibiting politically motivated requests for Department of Justice (DOJ) prosecutions or investigations. Specifically, it makes it unlawful for any "covered person"—defined as the President, Vice President, employees of their respective executive offices, or any individual (other than the Attorney General) serving in a Level I Executive Schedule position under 5 U.S.C. 5312 (i.e., cabinet secretaries and equivalents such as the United States Trade Representative, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, Commissioner of Social Security, Director of National Drug Control Policy, Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and Director of National Intelligence)—to knowingly request, directly or indirectly, any DOJ officer or employee to conduct a criminal prosecution or investigation of a particular individual if the request is made solely for a political purpose. It also makes it unlawful for any DOJ officer or employee to knowingly fail to report any such request (or one reasonably believed to be prohibited) to the DOJ Inspector General within 45 days. Violations are punishable by fine under title 18, imprisonment for not more than five years, or both. This section also makes a conforming amendment to the table of sections for 18 U.S.C. chapter 11.