#POLITICS FEBRUARY 6, 2018 / 5:32 PM / UPDATED 2 HOURS AGO

Lawmaker warns U.S. Attorney General against stifling whistleblowers

Sarah N. Lynch
3 MIN READ

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. Justice Department memo issued in January to employees about their communications with Congress may run afoul of rules designed to protect government whistleblowers from being muzzled, a Republican lawmaker said on Tuesday.

In a Feb. 5 letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley said he feared the Jan. 29 memo was an attempt to “prevent direct communications between federal employees and Congress.”

Grassley, a whistleblower advocate, released both documents on Tuesday. He has criticized the Trump administration’s efforts to prevent Congress from getting access to information from executive branch agencies.

The memo, attached to Grassley’s letter, was addressed to U.S. attorneys’ offices and heads of the Justice Department’s other components, such as the criminal and civil divisions.

The memo states that staffers “should not communicate with Senators, Representatives, congressional committees or congressional staff without advance coordination and consultation” with the department’s Office of Legislative Affairs.

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