Trump White House says it can talk to Justice Dept. on criminal cases
In contrast to guidance from the first Trump administration, the memo specifies that the president can discuss any types of cases with the attorney general.
February 9, 2025 at 12:29 p.m. EST
The Trump administration’s rules for how White House staff can interact with the Justice Department are a departure from Biden-era guidance, explicitly saying the president and vice president and their top lawyers can discuss ongoing criminal and civil cases with the attorney general and her deputies, according to a memo obtained by The Washington Post. The memo largely reflects guidance given during the first Trump administration, though it more clearly specifies that the president is not prohibited from discussing any types of cases with the attorney general.
The White House routinely issues such memos to staff at the beginning of an administration. They are intended to limit who speaks to the Justice Department about investigations and prosecutions — an effort to shield cases from political interference. In the post-Watergate era, the White House and Justice Department have tried to maintain clearer lines of separation to prevent the president and his aides from influencing sensitive cases. Like previous administrations, the Trump administration states in its memo that it is standard protocol for the White House and Justice Department to communicate about policy and national security matters. But White House counsel David A. Warrington also makes clear that President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and their counsels may ask about criminal and civil investigations.
That guidance, which is not legally binding, is significant in an administration that has vowed to upend the Justice Department and the FBI, which Trump and his allies have accused of mistreating him. Legal experts say the guidance could erode guardrails that have traditionally given the Justice Department a degree of independence from the White House that does not exist for other executive branch agencies. The White House did not respond to requests for comment. In the first weeks of the Trump administration, the leaders installed at the Justice Department and the FBI removed or transferred several top officials, launched investigations of the criminal probes of Trump and those involved in the Jan. 6, 2021 breach of the U.S. Capitol, and created new task forces to eradicate what Trump has decried as the “weaponization” of law enforcement.
The memo written by Warrington and delivered to the president’s staff includes standard language stressing that it is important to ensure that “DOJ exercises its investigatory and prosecutorial functions free from the appearance of improper political influence.” The President, Vice President, Counsel to the President and a Deputy Counsel to the President are the only White House officials who may initiate a conversation with DOJ about a specific case or investigation, whether criminal or civil,” Warrington wrote in the memo.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/02/09/trump-justice-department-guidance-memo/
He's a felon, and he is going to continue to do whatever he wants. He calls the shots and Pam Bondi obeys.
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