The Department of Justice has instructed the civil rights division to freeze all new cases or investigations and indicated it would re-evaluate Biden administration policies in a memo sent on Wednesday – the latest shake-up in President Donald Trump’s takeover.
The letter, sent by the chief of staff to the attorney general, instructs the temporary head of the department to ensure civil rights attorneys do not file “any new complaints, motions to intervene, agreed-upon remands, amicus briefs, or statements of interest,” according to a screenshot viewed by The New York Times.
The freeze was requested so Trump appointees can decide if they want to “initiate any new cases”.
Trump has repeatedly attacked the DoJ on allegations of corruption, believing he was unfairly targeted and prosecuted. He has promised to utilize the DoJ to go after his political enemies and re-direct its attention to immigration-related cases.
A second memo was sent ordering the department to freeze activity involving consent decrees and notify the chief of staff of any finalized within the last 90 days. Those consent decrees are agreements between local governments and the DoJ to address police behavior.
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