HR7575-119

What This Bill Does

This bill creates new federal rules against politically motivated investigations or prosecutions. DOJ attorneys, FBI agents, agency investigators, U.S. attorneys, and line prosecutors could not consider a person's political or policy associations, activities, or beliefs when deciding whether to investigate, charge, search, or arrest, and complaints, indictments, informations, search-warrant applications, and arrest-warrant applications must include attestations from covered officials. A person investigated or prosecuted after a violation can sue covered officials individually for damages. Grand-jury rules would require disclosure of known exculpatory information and witness-impeachment material to the grand jury, and defendants can request vote tallies by count. A defendant alleging political prosecution can seek in-camera review of grand-jury minutes and dismissal; courts must dismiss all or part of an indictment if impermissible political evidence was presented or probable cause was lacking, and re-presentation requires a different grand jury plus prior court findings. DOJ and FBI employees must report allegations to DOJ OPR and DOJ OIG, which must investigate within five business days, complete within one month, and confidentially notify appropriate congressional committees within five business days after findings or closure.

Who Benefits and How

Criminal defendants, targets of federal investigations, federal judges, grand juries, congressional oversight committees, DOJ OPR, and DOJ OIG benefit from attestations, grand-jury disclosure, dismissal procedures, complaint investigations, and congressional reporting.

Who Bears the Burden and How

DOJ attorneys, FBI agents, U.S. attorneys, line prosecutors, federal agency investigators, DOJ OPR, DOJ OIG, and federal courts must add attestations, disclosures, in-camera review, complaint investigation, reporting, and potential individual-capacity civil exposure.

Key Provisions

• Prohibits federal attorneys and investigators from considering political or policy beliefs when initiating or recommending investigations or prosecutions.
• Requires covered officials to attest in criminal complaints, informations, indictments, search warrants, and arrest warrants that political beliefs did not drive the action.
• Creates an individual-capacity civil action for people investigated or prosecuted after a violation.
• Requires grand-jury disclosure of exculpatory and impeachment information and defendant access to grand-jury vote tallies.
• Requires in-camera review and dismissal when political considerations tainted an indictment or probable cause was insufficient.
• Requires DOJ OPR and DOJ OIG to investigate and report political-prosecution allegations to Congress on short deadlines.