Eric Holder to Justice Dept. employees: Just say no to sex parties

The Department of Justice sent a memo to its employees Friday to remind them that soliciting prostitutes — on- or off-duty — is a violation of department policy.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder sent the memo to his department personnel. The memo, obtained by The Washington Post, shows the federal leader urging everyone on the department payroll — including attorneys and law enforcement officers — to consider the ramifications of their off-duty actions.

“The Department of Justice is measured by the conduct of those who work on its behalf,” Mr. Holder said in the memo. “The solicitation of prostitution threatens the core mission of the Department, not simply because it invites extortion, blackmail, and leaks of sensitive or classified information, but also because it undermines the Department’s efforts to eradicate the scourge of human trafficking.

“Regardless of whether prostitution is legal or tolerated in a particular jurisdiction, soliciting prostitutes creates a greater demand for human trafficking victims and a consequent increase in the number of minor and adult persons trafficked into commercial sex slavery,” Mr. Holder said.

The memo comes just as the House Judiciary Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations Subcommittee prepares to hold a hearing on misconduct in federal enforcement law and recent behavioral problems exhibited by members of the Secret Service, who were caught soliciting prostitutes while off-duty.

Drug Enforcement Administration agents who engaged in “sex parties” with prostitutes that may have been provided to them by the Colombian drug cartels are also high on the subcommittee’s “agents gone wild” watch list.

Justice officials say they will review the security clearances of those DEA agents accused of engaging in sexual misconduct while working in Colombia to ensure that they do not present a security risk to the agency, The Post reported. The memo shows that those agents could be suspended or fired.