Chuck Grassley: Eric Holder’s no-prostitutes memo not strong enough

Attorney General Eric Holder’s memo to Justice Department employees telling them to refrain from engaging in commercial sex drew the ire of the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, who said the memo isn’t nearly strong enough to properly address the issue.

The memo, distributed after a scathing inspector general report found Drug Enforcement Administration agents had engaged in “sex parties” with prostitutes that may have been provided to them by Colombian drug cartels, stopped short of establishing a zero-tolerance policy for staff who purchase sex, angering Sen. Chuck Grassley, who requested the measure after the IG report was released.

“There is no place in the federal government for employees who purchase sex. This memo itself says that such activity ’creates a greater demand for human trafficking,’ but fails to impose a sufficiently serious policy that would deter employees from engaging in this practice,” The Iowa Republican said in a statement Monday. “The memo is a good first step, but more needs to be done.”

The House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing on the topic Wednesday.

Mr. Holder sent the memo to his employees Friday to remind them that soliciting prostitutes — on- or off-duty — violated department policy. The memo, first 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 actions.

The Justice Department memo states, “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. … Department employees who violate these prohibitions will be subject to suspension or termination. Supervisors and managers are subject to discipline for failing to report suspected violations.”