JUSTICE DEPARTMENT REVISES POLICY REGARDING ATTORNEYS INVOLVEMENT IN ELECTIONS

Federal prosecutors must get approval from the Justice Department to participate in state or local ballot initiatives as a result of a policy change at the government agency.

They must submit written statements or testimony related to political activities to the Justice Department for review and prior approval.

The change came after the Justice Department's Office of Inspector General initiated an investigation at the urging of U.S. Sen. Christopher "Kit" Bond.

On Friday, Bond praised the policy change made in May and called on the Justice Department to take additional steps to report to Congress all requests from U.S. attorneys to participate in ballot issues. Bond said Congress also should be informed of all requests that were approved by the Justice Department.

"This revision of Justice Department policy is a welcome but overdue ounce of preventive medicine to keep federal officials from improperly influencing matters best left to the judgment of folks who answer to their neighbors down the road or in the next town over, not back in Washington," Bond said.

On March 29, 1999, Bond asked the inspector general's office to review the activities of U.S. Attorneys Ed Dowd Jr. and Stephen L. Hill Jr. for their efforts to defeat Proposition B, a concealed-weapons measure on the April 6, 1999 ballot in Missouri.

The investigation found that Dowd, assisted by an employee in his office, mailed a memorandum opposing Proposition B to 102 newspapers and a letter regarding the proposition to 709 law enforcement officers at Justice Department expense.

The letter was signed by Dowd, Hill and an employee in Dowd's office. It included a toll-free telephone number for law enforcement officers to call for information about the impact of Proposition B or to obtain campaign literature on the measure.

The inspector general's office found that Dowd received approval from the Justice Department to oppose Proposition B, but that department officials weren't aware that Dowd's activities would include mailings at federal expense.

In its review, the Justice Department found there are no federal laws prohibiting U.S. attorneys from getting involved in election issues.