White House and DOJ Announce Key Step Toward Rebuilding Democratic Guardrails

Today, the White House Counsel’s Office and Department of Justice released updated guidelines governing communications between the Justice Department and the White House. In reaction to this announcement, Rachel Homer, Counsel with Protect Democracy and former Justice Department attorney, released the following statement: 

“The publication of these policies marks an important step for the Department of Justice and an affirmation of the principle that even the appearance of political meddling in the administration of justice undermines faith in the rule of law.  

The American people cannot depend on goodwill from the executive to protect this critical democratic guardrail. Congress should pass, and President Biden should support, the Protecting our Democracy Act, which contains the Security from Political Interference in Justice Act, to codify the core aspects of these policies into law that will outlast any one administration. This legislation would also create training and enforcement mechanisms, which are essential tools for safeguarding the fair administration of justice.”

Since its founding in 2017, Protect Democracy has advocated for the creation and publication of guidelines governing communication between the Justice Department and the White House. Protect Democracy attorneys Rachel Homer and Kristy Parker, both alumni of the Department of Justice, recently published an essay setting out additional steps that the Attorney General can take to protect the Department from politicization and to mirror the transformational leadership of his post-Watergate predecessors.