Blumenthal & Goldman Announce Legislation to Protect Against Political Prosecutions

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Following the indictment of former FBI Director James Comey at the personal direction of President Donald Trump and reports that the Department of Justice is drafting plans to investigate progressive organizations, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and U.S. Representative Dan Goldman (D-NY) announced a framework for new legislation to enact guardrails to prevent the Trump Administration and future Administrations from misusing the justice system to target political opponents.

"Donald Trump is perverting our justice system by indictments on demand- directing prosecutions based on vengeance and vanity, not facts and law. To help halt the spiraling crisis of destructive abuse, we are developing legislation to install safeguards- beginning with a right of action against federal officials who engage in malicious prosecution and personal or political targeting," Blumenthal said. "Some of these reforms are sweeping, because the threat we face is unprecedented. There must be accountability for federal officials who use the vast power of prosecution for personal or political ends. We must uphold the long-revered ethos and rules of the Department of Justice that indictments meet rigorous standards of fact and law. These reforms will make our justice system fairer for all Americans. Today it's Comey. Tomorrow it could be you."

"Donald Trump has taken a sledgehammer to the very foundation of our democracy by so blatantly weaponizing the justice system for his political purposes. By turning the attorney general into his personal avenger, he has laid bare the pressing need to establish firm and lasting statutory reforms to insulate the Department of Justice from partisan politics," Goldman said. "I am proud to partner with Senator Blumenthal on this critical legislation and I hope all of our colleagues on both sides of the aisle who believe in our democracy and the rule of law will join us."

The Thursday night indictment of Comey occurred only after Trump replaced the non-partisan, career prosecutor supervising the case with one of his own personal attorneys, because the career prosecutor concluded there was insufficient evidence to bring a case.

Trump has directed his Attorney General to target other political opponents as well. Last week, President Trump posted on Truth Social, instructing Attorney General Bondi to move forward with cases against U.S. Senator Adam Schiff (D-CA) and New York Attorney General Letitia James, in addition to Comey, saying "[t]hey're all guilty as hell." The attorney prosecuting the Comey case was installed after her predecessor was pushed out for also refusing to bring fraud charges against James.

At the end of last week, the New York Times reported that a senior official at the Justice Department instructed several U.S. attorney's offices to begin plans to investigate an organization - the Open Society Foundations - affiliated with progressive causes and funded by a major Democratic donor whom Trump has said "should be put in jail."

The Preventing Political Prosecutions Act would:

• Create a right of action against federal officials-prosecutors, agents, and DOJ and FBI leadership-who engage in selective or malicious prosecution or investigation based on political or partisan considerations;
• Enact grand jury reforms, including:
• • Require prosecutors to present exculpatory evidence to the Grand Jury;
  • Require disclosure of grand jury vote tally to the defendant as part of discovery;
  • Strengthen judges' ability to scrutinize the evidence presented to grand juries where improper political considerations are credibly alleged;
• Codify the Justice Manual's rules on impermissible political considerations in the decision to bring or decline to bring a case;
• Prohibit direct or indirect White House instructions to the Department of Justice concerning investigative or charging decisions in individual criminal cases;
• Require all line prosecutors and U.S. Attorneys to certify under penalty of perjury that:
• • the indictment did not rely on impermissible political considerations;
  • the evidence in support of the indictment is sufficient to prove the defendant's guilt at trial beyond a reasonable doubt; and
• Require all DOJ employees to report to the Office of Professional Responsibility and the Office of the Inspector General any instance where partisanship, politics or personal opinions about the target were considered in an investigative or charging decision and require OPR and OIG to disclose any such reports, including specific communications, to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees.

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