S. 3874 — Prohibiting Political Prosecutions Act of 2026

This section establishes new 28 U.S.C. §530E prohibiting attorneys and investigators for the federal government—including applicable covered individuals (i.e., specified FBI personnel such as the Director, special agents in charge, section chiefs, and agents; heads and agents of other investigating agencies; U.S. attorneys; and line prosecutors)—from considering a person's political or policy associations, activities, or beliefs, or from commencing or recommending prosecution or investigation to influence or change them. It requires each such covered individual to attest on criminal complaints, informations, indictments, search warrants, and arrest warrants that (1) the action is not based on the target's political or policy associations, activities, or beliefs, (2) the action is not intended to influence or change them, and (3) for complaints, informations, or indictments, the evidence suffices to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The section authorizes any person investigated or prosecuted following a violation to bring a civil damages action against the responsible covered individual in their personal capacity.

This section amends Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 6 to require the government to inform grand juries of (1) the nature and existence of any exculpatory evidence it knows of and (2) any witness statements, reports, communications, or recordings in its possession that may impeach a witness's grand jury testimony. This section amends Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 16(a)(1) to require the government, upon a defendant's request, to disclose the number of grand jurors who voted to indict on each count and the number present for the vote. This section amends Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 48 to establish a procedure for dismissing all or part of an indictment upon a defendant's motion alleging political motivations in the prosecution. The court must review grand jury minutes in camera to determine if (1) the government presented sufficient probable cause evidence for each offense element, (2) evidence impermissibly referenced the defendant's political or policy associations, activities, or beliefs, (3) the government disclosed known exculpatory evidence, and (4) the government disclosed known impeachment information for witness testimony. If deficiencies are found, the court dismisses the indictment; the government may re-present to a new grand jury only upon court findings of no political motivation.

This section establishes new 28 U.S.C. §530F prohibiting White House influence over Department of Justice (DOJ) investigative or charging decisions in individual criminal cases. Specifically, it (1) bars the President or any White House employee from directly or indirectly instructing DOJ on such decisions and (2) bars any DOJ employee from considering such instructions.

This section amends 28 U.S.C. §530B (requiring Department of Justice attorneys to follow state and local rules governing private attorneys) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection (d) and inserting a new subsection (c) that does the following: (1) requires all Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation employees to report to the Office of Professional Responsibility and Office of the Inspector General any instance in which the political or policy associations, activities, or beliefs of an investigation or charging decision target were considered or in which such a decision was made to influence or change those associations, activities, or beliefs; (2) requires the Director of the Office of Professional Responsibility and the Inspector General to disclose to each appropriate congressional committee any related communication or complaint received by the Office of the Inspector General, including the specific communication or complaint, investigative steps taken, and any findings; (3) provides that such disclosures are confidential notwithstanding the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. §552a) and must be made no later than 5 business days after issuance of findings or, if none, after investigation conclusion; and (4) requires the Office of Professional Responsibility and Office of the Inspector General to investigate all such communications or complaints, commencing no later than 5 business days after receipt and completing no later than 1 month after receipt.

This section establishes a severability clause, providing that if any provision of the Act or its amendments, or its application to any person or circumstance, is held unconstitutional, the remainder of the Act, its amendments, and their applications remain unaffected.