Section 1.1 - Q6 - What Does Project 2025 Say?

“Traditionally, both the White House Counsel and the Attorney General have issued a memo requiring all contact between the two institutions to occur only between the Office of White House Counsel and the Attorney General or Deputy Attorney General. The next Administration should reexamine this policy and determine whether it might be more efficient or more appropriate for communication to occur through additional channels.”

Citation: Project 2025, Section 1.1: White House Office, Rick Dearborn, pages 59-60

Context:

Dearborn is advocating for circumventing traditional communication between the White House Counsel and the Attorney General. The reason for the longstanding policy that limits communication between the White House and the Department of Justice (DOJ) is because it maintains clear lines of accountability and prevents inappropriate or politicized influence on the DOJ by the White House. Changing this policy would politicize (or weaponize) the DOJ in a very literal sense, as well as undermine the independence of the DOJ. Moreover, if you have more people involved in the communication chain, you’re diluting responsibility and making it more difficult to track who is responsible for specific decisions or actions.

Full contextual analysis of Section 1.1: White House Office here.

Section: Section 1.1: White House Office

Categories: Government, The DOJ, White House Counsel