Hundreds of former U.S. Department of Justice attorneys — who served under both Republican and Democratic administrations — have filed a formal comment opposing a proposed DOJ rule that would allow the Attorney General to block state bar associations from investigating federal government lawyers. The former officials argue the rule violates the McDade Amendment, a federal law that requires DOJ attorneys to be held to the same ethical standards as any other lawyer practicing in their state. Their concern is amplified by the current administration’s recent dismantling of key internal DOJ ethics oversight bodies, including the firing of the head of the Office of Professional Responsibility and the Director of the Department’s Ethics Office — leaving state bar associations as one of the last remaining checks on attorney misconduct. The signatories warn that shielding federal lawyers from independent oversight would erode public trust in the rule of law and undermine the foundational American principle that no one — not even government prosecutors — is above accountability.

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