WASHINGTON – Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley today issued the following statement after a federal judge yesterday sanctioned Justice Department attorneys for misrepresenting facts to the court in a case regarding the Obama Administration’s deferred deportation actions:
“Unfortunately, I know what it’s like to be misled by false information from Justice Department lawyers. Now, to be caught intentionally lying to a federal court on another high profile and serious matter threatens to create a crisis of confidence in the integrity of the Justice Department. When a federal judge sanctioning those lawyers writes: ‘there seems to be a lack of knowledge about or adherence to the duties of professional responsibility in the halls of the Justice Department,’ it is time for changes. The judge is correct that the Department’s Office of Professional Responsibility has been ineffective in policing its attorneys. I have long supported giving jurisdiction over attorney misconduct to the more independent Office of Inspector General to ensure greater transparency and accountability, and this incident only underscores the need for that kind of reform. In the meantime, Attorney General Lynch must address what the judge said was ‘unethical conduct’ and put an end to the dishonesty in the halls of the Justice Department.”
In late 2014, several states requested a preliminary injunction blocking implementation of President Obama’s expanded deferred deportation executive order. In response, Justice Department attorneys represented to a federal judge that the government would not implement the President’s order until February 18, 2015, and that there was no need for such an injunction until that time. However, despite that representation, the Department of Homeland Security approved at least 100,000 applications for deferred deportation under the new order before February 18, prompting questions from Grassley. The court issued the preliminary injunction on February 16, 2015 ordering that implementation of the order be stopped. The department subsequently approved another 2,000 extended work permits in defiance of the injection.
In the opinion released yesterday in the Southern District of Texas, Judge Andrew Hanen said of the government’s misrepresentation to the court, “The misconduct in this case was intentional, serious and material. In fact, it is hard to imagine a more serious, more calculated plan of unethical conduct.” He ordered that government attorneys working in the states that filed the immigration suit be required to undergo annual ethics training. He also ordered Attorney General Loretta Lynch to develop and submit to the court a comprehensive plan to prevent further unethical conduct as well as a plan to ensure that the department’s Office of Professional Responsibility is effectively policing the conduct of its attorneys.
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