Justice Dept. Releases Slate of Memos from Attorney General Bondi

Following her swearing-in on Feb. 5, Attorney General Pam Bondi signed 14 memos directed to Justice Department employees, on topics ranging from internal personnel matters—such as a memo noting the “necessary steps to return to full-time in-person work”—to announcing potentially widespread investigations into current and former civil servants.

Two memos respond to President Trump’s executive order on “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity.” One rescinds “all Department materials that encouraged or permitted race- or sex-based preferences as a method of compliance with federal civil rights laws,” and evaluates policies, consent decrees, settlement agreements, and litigation positions for “race- or sex-based preferences, diversity hiring targets, or preferential treatment based on DEI- or DEIA-related criteria.” It also directs the department to issue updated guidance to “narrow the use of ‘disparate impact’ theories” and “emphasize that statistical disparities alone do not automatically constitute unlawful discrimination.” The second directs the department’s Civil Rights Division to “investigate, eliminate, and penalize illegal DEI and DEIA preferences, mandates, policies, programs, and activities in the private sector and in educational institutions that receive federal funds.”

Several memos simply rescind previous directives from former Attorney General Merrick Garland, including one on settlements to non-governmental third parties, one directing the department to pursue environmental justice, and one on reliance on guidance documents for enforcement actions.

The memos also establish two task forces and working groups, including a task force to “prioritize seeking justice for victims of the October 7, 2023 terrorist attack in Israel” through criminal investigations and prosecutions. Another working group is directed to carry out Trump’s executive order on “Ending the Weaponization of The Federal Government.” Bondi directs the group to look into Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigations; “federal cooperation” with the criminal and civil cases against Trump pursued in New York; “the pursuit of improper investigative tactics and unethical prosecutions” related to Jan. 6; and a range of other Justice Department actions including prosecutions of anti-abortion activists.

Another set of memos focuses on the death penalty. One directs the department to begin enforcement of the federal death penalty, which was halted under the Biden administration, and begin seeking capital punishment in appropriate cases—noting that prosecutors “are expected to seek the death penalty in cases involving the murder of a law-enforcement officer and capital crimes committed by aliens who are illegally present in the United States.” Another instructs U.S. attorneys’ offices to work with state law enforcement to pursue capital punishment under state law for the 37 defendants whose federal death sentences were commuted by former President Biden.

The next memo focuses on immigration enforcement. Bondi instructs the department to limit access to federal funding for “sanctuary jurisdictions” that “refuse to comply with 8 U.S.C. § 1373, refuse to certify compliance with § 1373, or willfully fail to comply with other applicable federal immigration laws.” The department also must identify and pause—and, potentially, terminate—“all contracts, grants, or other agreements with organizations that support or provide services to removable or illegal aliens.” The department is instructed to investigate and prosecute “violations of federal laws such as 18 U.S.C. § 371 and 8 U.S.C. §§ 1324 and 1373” in this context, with declination decisions reported immediately to Justice Department leadership, and should also take action to challenge state and local laws “that facilitate violations of federal immigration laws or impede lawful federal immigration operations.”

Another memo directs the department to seek “total elimination” of drug cartels and transnational criminal organizations by pursuing immigration enforcement and criminal prosecution against such individuals, including by streamlining the process for pursuing terrorism and racketeering charges and charges eligible for capital punishment. This memo also shifts resources away from existing corruption and money laundering investigations toward activity related to cartels and shuts down Justice Department anti-kleptocracy work, including the “KleptoCapture” task force charged with enforcing U.S. sanctions on Russia following the invasion of Ukraine.

One memo addresses policies on charging, plea negotiations, and sentencing—directing prosecutors to “charge and pursue the most serious, readily provable offense” in the absence of “unusual facts”; deviation from this approach requires approval from department leadership. Bondi also states that “prosecutors may not use criminal charges to exert leverage to induce a guilty plea” and that they may not “abandon pending charges to achieve a plea bargain that is inconsistent with the prosecutor's assessment of the seriousness of the defendant's conduct.” It is not clear what effect this will have on the department’s typical process of negotiating plea deals.

Prosecutors are also directed to focus their work on immigration enforcement, human trafficking, transnational organized crime, and “protecting law enforcement” (it is unclear how the latter authority interacts with Bondi’s directive to investigate the civil servants who prosecuted January 6 rioters who themselves attacked law enforcement officials). The memo also disbands the department’s Foreign Influence Task Force and limits foreign influence prosecutions under FARA and related statutes to “instances of alleged conduct similar to more traditional espionage by foreign government actors.”

A final memo overrides the widespread Justice Department practice of allowing attorneys to decline to sign briefs or appear in court on personal moral grounds, instead directing that attorneys who do so or “otherwise delay or impede the Department’s mission” should be disciplined or fired.

Read the memos on the Justice Department’s website or below: 

Memo on “Eliminating Internal Discriminatory Practices”

 Memo on “Ending Illegal DEI and DEA Discrimination and Preferences” 

 Memo on “Establishment of Joint Task Force of October 7”

Memo on “General Policy Regarding Charging, Plea Negotiations, and Sentencing”

Memo on “General Policy Regarding Zealous Advocacy on Behalf of the United States”

 Memo on “Reinstating the Prohibition on Improper Guidance Documents”

Memo on “Reinstating the Prohibition on Improper Third-Party Settlements”

Memo on “Rescinding ‘Environmental Justice’ Memoranda” 

Memo on “Restoring a Measure of Justice to the Families of Victims of Commuted Murderers” 

Memo on “Return to Full-Time In-Person Work at the Department of Justice”

Memo on “Restoring the Integrity and Credibility of the Department of Justice”

Memo on “Reviving the Federal Death Penalty and Lifting the Moratorium on Federal Executions”

Memo on “Sanctuary Jurisdiction Directives”

Memo on “Total Elimination of Cartels and Transnational Criminal Organizations”