The Justice Department wants its employees to stop sleeping with prostitutes
In a new all-staff memo issued on Friday, Attorney General Eric Holder warned that such behavior could lead to being fired.
"The Department of Justice is measured by the conduct of those who work on its behalf. 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," Holder wrote in the memo, which was published by The Washington Post.
The memo comes in the aftermath of a series of embarrassing scandals involving Justice Department employees soliciting prostitutes on the job. A blockbuster inspector general report revealed in March that Drug Enforcement Administration officials allegedly had "sex parties" funded by drug cartels, and a deputy US marshall once had two Thai prostitutes answer his State Department calls.
Holder said the prostitution ban even extends to countries where it's legal.
"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," he wrote.
The inspector general report also accused supervisors of repeatedly failing to take action when their staff members were caught in alleged sexual misconduct. Holder's letter also put these supervisors on notice.
"Supervisors and managers are subject to discipline for failing to report suspected violations. Suspected violations by Department employees must be immediately reported to the internal affairs personnel of the relevant component's headquarters," he wrote.
View Holder's letter below: