American Bar Association: DOJ proceedings must remain nonpolitical

American Bar Association

The American Bar Association is greatly concerned about the recent pattern of actions by the Department of Justice that continue to erode the department’s historical independence from political influence.

Using government power to threaten people and groups on political grounds is antithetical to our system of justice and the rule of law. Intimidating a political opponent, a lawyer or law enforcement official who was doing their job, an organization that pursued missions not favored by the president, state attorneys general and even members of Congress is unacceptable. Evidence, not ideology, should always be the north star.

“Independence in the work of the Department of Justice has been the norm for decades going back to the time of Watergate. When that independence is threatened there is a negative effect on our justice system,” said ABA President Michelle A. Behnke.  “Prosecutorial decisions must be free from political direction so that we don’t have a corrosive loss of the public’s trust and confidence in our systems.”

For decades, the Department of Justice has maintained an independence from the president. Lessons learned from the Watergate scandal helped establish stronger norms and rules to protect the department's independence from political influence. This is a precedent worth preserving.

The ABA passed policy 15 years ago concerning the partisan political interests of prosecutors and other government lawyers. It urges the president and the attorney general to assure that lawyers in the Department of Justice do not make decisions concerning investigations or proceedings based upon partisan political interests and do not perceive that they will be rewarded for, or punished for, not making a decision based upon partisan political interests. 

The ABA remains committed to this policy today.

(https://www.americanbar.org/news/abanews/aba-news-archives/2025/09/department-of-justice-nonpolitical/)