Recently, various Democrats in the House (Rep. Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the Committee on the Judiciary; Rep. Gerald Connolly, Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform; Rep. Lucy McBath, Ranking Member of the Committee on the Judiciary’s Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance; and Rep. Summer Lee, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Federal Law Enforcement) sent this letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi. 

The accompanying press release states that the purpose of the letter is to “request[] information on the Trump Administration’s rapid fire efforts to give free rein to corruption by endorsing bribery, quid-pro-quos, and related crimes and undermining the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) commitment to good government and the rule of law.”

On February 5th, Attorney General Pam Bondi issued this memo titled “Total Elimination of Cartels and Transnational Criminal Organizations.” The memo contained a section titled “Removing Bureaucratic Impediments to Aggressive Prosecutions” which addressed five areas of law to be “implemented for a period of 90 days and renewed or made permanent thereafter as deemed appropriate by the Office of the Attorney General and the Office of the Deputy Attorney General.”

Regarding the FCPA, the memo stated:

“The Criminal Division’s Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Unit shall prioritize investigations related to foreign bribery that facilitates the criminal operations of Cartels and TCOs, and shift focus away from investigations and cases that do not involve such a connection. Examples of such cases include bribery of foreign officials to facilitate human smuggling and the trafficking of narcotics and firearms.

The requirements in Justice Manual § 9-4 7.110 requiring authorization by the Criminal Division for an investigation or prosecution of a case under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and Foreign Extortion Prevention Act, as well as the requirement that such investigations and prosecutions be conducted by trial attorneys of the Fraud Section, are suspended for all matters relating to foreign bribery associated with Cartels and TCOs. U.S. Attorney’s Offices shall provide the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Unit with 24 hours’ advance notice of the intention to seek charges and make available to the Unit upon request any existing memoranda relating to the contemplated charges. No new or additional paperwork will be required by the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Unit in connection with these notices and consultations.”

On February 10th, President Trump signed an Executive Order Titled “Pausing Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Enforcement to Further American Economic and National Security.”

Section 2 of the Executive Order is titled “Policy of Enforcement Discretion” and states in pertinent part:

(a) For a period of 180 days following the date of this order, the Attorney General shall review guidelines and policies governing investigations and enforcement actions under the FCPA.  During the review period, the Attorney General shall:

(i) cease initiation of any new FCPA investigations or enforcement actions, unless the Attorney General  determines that an individual exception should be made;

(ii) review in detail all existing FCPA investigations or enforcement actions and take appropriate action  with respect to such matters to restore proper bounds on FCPA enforcement and preserve          Presidential foreign policy prerogatives; and

(iii) issue updated guidelines or policies, as appropriate, to adequately promote the President’s Article  authority to conduct foreign affairs and prioritize American interests, American economic  competitiveness with respect to other nations, and the efficient use of Federal law enforcement resources.

The letter to Attorney General Bondi seeks written responses by March 7th to various issues including the following.

“Identify the number of investigations involving potential bribery of foreign officials and/or associated money laundering that have been paused or terminated following the President’s February 10, 2025, Executive Order.”

“Specify whether, and under what circumstances, a U.S. business engaging in bribery of a foreign official under the FCPA or other federal statute constitutes a “Transnational Criminal Organization” or “TCO” as set forth at page 4 of your February 5, 2025, memorandum regarding “Total Elimination of Cartels and Transnational Criminal Organizations.”