Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein ordered a top-to-bottom review of the U.S. Attorneys' Manual, a guide for federal prosecutors and other Justice Department lawyers, and the changes span everything from minor edits to entire sections being removed, BuzzFeed News reports. There is new language urging prosecutors to pursue the most serious charges possible, intervene in cases where religious liberties are in question, and report "any contact with a member of the media about a DOJ matter." Gone is language opposing racial gerrymandering and an entire subsection, in the manual since at least 1988, titled "Need for Free Press and Public Trial," BuzzFeed reports. It used to read:
Likewise, careful weight must be given in each case to the constitutional requirements of a free press and public trials as well as the right of the people in a constitutional democracy to have access to information about the conduct of law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and courts, consistent with the individual rights of the accused. Further, recognition should be given to the needs of public safety, the apprehension of fugitives, and the rights of the public to be informed on matters that can affect enactment or enforcement of public laws or the development or change of public policy. [U.S. Attorneys' Manual, via BuzzFeed]
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