AG Merrick Garland Issues Threatening Memo Against FBI Whistleblowers

“Attorney General Merrick Garland has issued a memo to Justice Department personnel reiterating the department’s policy of prohibiting communication with members of Congress,” Fox News reports.

Garland said all communication with Congress must be handled by the Office of Legislative Affairs (OLA).

Per DOJ policy, “no department employee may communicate with Senators, Representatives, congressional committees, or congressional staff without advance coordination, consultation, and approval by OLA.”

“All congressional inquiries and correspondence from Members, committees, and staff should be immediately directed to OLA upon receipt,” says Justice Manual 1-8.000.

Hannity discussed the memo on his program Tuesday night.

WATCH:

Via Fox News:

Garland said these policies were designed to protect the DOJ’s “criminal and civil law enforcement decisions, and its legal judgments, from partisan or other inappropriate influences, whether real or perceived, direct or indict.”

They are also designed, Garland said, “to ensure that Congress may carry out its legislative investigatory and oversight functions.”

Garland insisted that such policies were not “intended to conflict with or limit whistleblower protections.”

The memorandum comes on the heels of a tumultuous few months for the DOJ and the FBI. Over the weekend, Tim Thibault, an assistant special agent-in-charge in the District of Columbia, retired amid allegations that he supposedly ran interference in the investigation into Hunter Biden’s laptop.

MAJOR TURN? Anti-Trumper FBI Agent Who Ran Mar-A-Lago Raid ESCORTED Out Of Bureau Headquarters!

The Washington Times added:

Kurt Siuzdak, a former FBI agent and attorney who represents bureau whistleblowers, said the memo is targeting employees who want to speak out against misconduct, noting there is no official whistleblower designation.

“There’s no whistleblower status, per se. If you make a protected disclosure of criminal wrongdoing or serious misconduct, and then they retaliate, you go to the Office of Attorney Recruitment and Management and they basically will remove any personnel actions after two to five years and people know it’s two to five years. And they know the Office of General Counsel is going to fight and cause them lots of money,” he said.

“‘So if it’s not a whistleblower, then we’re coming after you,’ is what they would say,’” he said. “‘If we determine you’re not a whistleblower, then we’re gonna retaliate. … Because if you’re gonna report misconduct to the Congress, and that doesn’t rise to the level of misconduct, then we’re gonna take action.’’’

The memorandum is Mr. Garland’s second in two days as he tries to clamp down on heated criticism from Republicans that the Justice Department has been weaponized against them. They have accused Mr. Garland of authorizing the Aug. 8 raid on former President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate to politically damage Mr. Trump.