AG Merrick Garland Prohibits DOJ Appointees From Campaign Activities
We ran the numbers: There are 1,441 news articles covering this topic. 34% (492) are left-leaning, 45% (642) are centrist, and 21% (307) are right-leaning.
Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a new directive prohibiting Department of Justice (DOJ) appointees from participating in campaign activities. While left-leaning articles highlight the motivations of the directive, right-leaning articles highlight criticisms of the DOJ that potentially caused the directive.
USA Today published a centrist article reporting on how Garland’s directive is a break from previous DOJ policy and is a strict interpretation of the Hatch Act which limits federal government employees’ political participation. The move comes ahead of increased DOJ scrutiny and the 2022 midterm elections.
A left-leaning article from The Washington Post focuses on how Garland believes the new directive is necessary “to maintain public trust and ensure that politics — both in fact and appearance — does not compromise or affect the integrity of our work.” The article also notes how the policy comes amidst political scrutiny as the DOJ investigates Trump’s handling of classified documents once his presidency ended.
A right-leaning article from Fox News focuses on how the directive comes as the DOJ faces criticism over the FBI Mar-a-Lago raid and the Hunter Biden laptop investigation. The article notes that this is an “apparent attempt to clean up the institution's public image and regain trust.”
From the right
DOJ bans political appointees from partisan events, with department under scrutiny
Fox News