Attorney General Ellison demands that federal attorneys adhere to ethics standards
On April 7, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison led a coalition of 22 state attorneys general in filing a formal comment opposing a proposed DOJ rule (OAG199) that would require state bar disciplinary authorities to defer investigations into DOJ attorney misconduct to the department’s own internal review process — and would subject states that refuse to comply to undefined “retaliatory actions.” AG Ellison cited the observation by a federal chief judge that the DOJ has frequently violated court orders, and the mass exodus of DOJ attorneys as evidence that independent ethics oversight is now more necessary than ever. The proposed rule would effectively give the Trump DOJ a veto over professional accountability proceedings for its own lawyers, removing a key check on prosecutorial misconduct by insulating federal attorneys from the same professional standards that govern every other member of the bar.